Making Peace Through Education, Empathy and New Friendships.

8 Days left!

Today was a gorgeous day to live in Vancouver. The sun was brilliant, and the sky a blue almost as intense as the jackets belonging to Olmpic volunteers, which swarm down the streets in increasing numbers.


I woke up early in order to catch a ride downtown, arriving at the office at 7:15 to meet up with The Sharing The Dream Team for our second big webcast, focusing on The Olympic Truce. Keara and I watched the sunrise's blazing reflection bouncing off glass skyscraper windows, while rehearsing our lines and interview questions.

Our guest of honour, the Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid, BC Minister of Education, arrived at 8:00 am. We got seated and did a mic check, while Audrey Hobbs-Johnson, a BCELC consultant, asked our studio audience some thought-provoking questions around global citizenship and legacy. The Minister was very friendly and calm, asking questions about Sharing The Dream and sharing stories with Keara and me while we got ready to go online.

We went live at 8:30am, kicking off with our interview with The Minister, who had some excellent points. She spoke on the importance of learning about global citizenship from a young age and incorporating it into our lives, and how teachers find ways to encourage global citizenship not only in Social Studies classrooms, but in everyday situations in math class or science.

This was rapidly followed by the video of our interview with Greg Mortenson, a few weeks ago, as well as videos sent in from Craig Kielburger and Her Excellency, The Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Canada's Governor General. You can find the full webcast at www.sharingthedream.gov.bc.ca/resources/webcasts. It should be archived within the next couple of weeks.

Although I would say that our webcast today was our most successful to date, I think the true success of the day came after we'd finished filming, and we had the opportunity to put what we'd learned into action. After participating in an activity about making our peace, which will be broadcast in a special webcast on February 11th, a group of both Students Live members, who had been in the audience, and Sharing The Dream Members, who had been conducting the webcast, went for a walk in the Vancouver sunshine down to Robson Square.

We soaked up the culture and outdoor art exhibits, and admired the towering photos of athletes that adorn The Bay downtown, and chatted excitedly. Every fifth person on the street seemed to have an acreditation pass around their neck. To me, this was the highlight of the day, getting the opportunity to make connections with other students and discuss the games and how we contribute to our communities and our world.

The big focus of our webcast today was on creating global citizens and making our peace. We discussed the importance of education and empathy, but ultimately concluded that peace comes through building positive relationships with the people around you, through dialogue and the friendship that follows.

Watch for a special three hour long live Sharing The Dream webcast on February 11th, where the team will be attending a forum on Making Peace and The Olympic Truce with Michaelle Jean.

Coquitlam Gears Up For The Games

A couple photos from roaming Coquitlam during our semester break. Even though The Games aren't officially coming here, the excitement and spirit is popping up everywhere. Lookout for later blogs about how we are painting our town red to support our athletes!

Are YOU Ready?

15 days to go!

I can feel the olympic spirit everywhere I go. Walking through the mall, stores are hanging up red and white banners, along the street cars are decked out in the blue and green logos, and up above banners wave encouragement. The excitement and anticipation are contagious.




Monday afternoon the Students Live group met up for a tour of the main media center for the games, down at Canada Place. It was a very impressive space, and easy to picture the bustling work area it will be during The Games, as writers and photographers hurry to meet publication dates.
We returned to the BCELC office afterwards for a meeting and some pointers from CBC blogger Theresa Lalone, who encouraged us to provide fresh, visual content (note the photo above?). We also got to work on a new video for the site, which I finished up last night. You can watch it below or find it on http://www.studentslive.ca/.

Lastly, I'm following in Cheyenne's (imgoingstudentslive.blogspot.com) footsteps. This morning I bussed over to school for an interview with a teacher about being featured in our local newspaper, The Now. Of course, I mentioned my involvement in Students Live and Sharing The Dream.

Créez la paix en Haïti

Jour 0
23 jours avant les Jeux d'Hiver 2010.

Aujourd`hui, cela fait plus d’une semaine depuis le tremblement de terre en Haïti. Chaque jour, on annonce de plus en plus de morts et des histoires tragiques et tristes. C’est une situation très grave.
Ici, au Canada, un défenseur des Haïtiens est Michaëlle Jean, la Gouverneure Générale du Canada. Elle est également la Présidente d`Honneur de la Trêve olympique de Vancouver 2010. Elle a toujours eu une réputation d’humanitaire empathique mais le désastre en Haïti est particulièrement important pour elle parce qu’elle y est née.
Maintenant, on voit beaucoup de choses d’Haïti : on voit les enfants qui sont couverts de poussière et les hommes et les femmes qui ont tout perdu.
Je ne peux pas imaginer les pensées de Michaëlle Jean – et d’autres Haïtiens -- quand elle voit la souffrance dans son pays d’origine. J’ai peur quand j’imagine cette même destruction en Vancouver.
La Trêve olympique demande aux Canadiens de « créer votre paix ». Le Haïti a besoin d’aide, et on peut en donner. On peut texter « HAITI » au 90999 pour faire un don de $10 à la Croix Rouge, ou on peut faire un don à Free The Children ici : www.freethechildren.com/donate/haiti-earthquake-relief-fund .
On peut voir le discours de Michaëlle Jean en français ici: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLSdizg2sL8

Making Peace In Haiti

Day 0

24 Days until The Games.

It has officially been one week since a horrific earthquake shook the small nation of Haiti. As time continues to stretch out, the death toll rises, and new stories of loss emerge from the dust and rubble. The world has been faced with a truly tragic situation.
Here in Canada, one of the strongest advocates for sending aid to Haiti has been our Governor General, Her Excellency The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean. It is no coincidence that she is also the patron of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce. Over the years, she has earned a reputation for her compassion and humanitarian endeavours. The disaster in Haiti, however, is particularly close to her heart, as she herself was born there.
By this point, we have all heard the stories of entrapment in collapsed buildings, of violent confrontations and gut-wrenching desperation. We have seen images of children, faces white with dust, eyes wide, and men and women reduced to begging for help of any kind.
I can only imagine the emotions Michaëlle Jean - or any other Haitian - must feel as images of the suffering in her homeland pour through the media. I feel terrified when I close my eyes and imagine Vancouver undergoing such destruction. In addition to this terror, however, I feel an immense desire to reach out and help.
The Olympic Truce calls for us to "make our own peace". The earthquake in Haiti provides a somber opportunity to reach out into the world and give back, and the opportunities to do so are plentiful. You can text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross, or visit www.freethechildren.com/donate/haiti-earthquake-relief-fund to donate through Free The Children.
You can also follow Free The Children Leader, Craig Kielburger's, experiences in Haiti on Youtube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfRcVjeg0BA) and on Twitter (twitter.com/craigkielburger).
To learn more about The Olympic Truce, you can visit www.olympictruce.org or www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/winter-games-history/olympic-truce/vancouver-2010-olympic-truce-patron
Lastly, to view Michaëlle Jean's emotional statement on the disaster, you can visit here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1Sl7LP5NDc

Drinking Tea...

Day 0
27 Days to The Games


Keara, Dharra, and me, with Dr. Greg Mortenson, humanitarian,and author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools. Through his work as the head of the Central Asia Institute, he has built over 130 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Anybody who has read the New York Times Bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, will agree that Dr. Greg Mortenson is one remarkable man. He is a humanitarian and accomplished author, whose second book, Stones Into Schools, was just recently released. His speeches move audience members to tears, and inspire children to give up their worldly possessions to raise money for their peers in the Middle East. Over the past dozen years, he has risen to almost mythical status; the courageous mountaineer who got lost in Pakistan's fierce Karakoram mountain range, and ultimately found his calling. He has even drawn comparisons to "a modern day real-life Indiana Jones."

Needless to say, I was unsure quite what to expect as I settled down in a classroom at Southridge School in Surrey, a set of interview questions in front of me, and Keara and Dharra, two fellow Sharing The Dream Team members, at my side. The room was filled with a sense of excitement at the prospect of finally meeting such a heroic figure.

When Dr. Greg Mortenson finally did arrive, a good half hour late after getting lost, I can't say that Indianna Jones was the name that came to mind. Instead, he reminded me of a beloved uncle or older brother. Keara compared his peaceful demeanor to the Dalai Lama, but where the Dalai Lama has a certain fragility, Greg was more sturdy, like a giant, soft spoken, teddy bear. At over 6 feet tall, he smiled benevolently down at each of the team members, pulling out a cue card to write our names down on, so he wouldn't forget them. He also put his name down on the card, just in case.

We launched into questions on the importance of girls' education, forming relationships, and promoting peace through schools. He answered in a warm, deep voice, pulling statistics from the air and thuroughly explaining his hopes and endeavours. There was no questioning his firm belief in what he does.

Dr. Greg made it clear to us that only through education, can peace, sustainability, and health be acheived. Especially, he stressed, through education of women. He quoted an African proverb he'd learned growing up in Tanzania, "Educate a boy, and you educate an individual, but educate a girl, and you educate a community."

Partway through his first response, I found myself so fascinated in his words of wisdom, that I completely forgot to make eye contact with the camera. I was sorely dissapointed when we ran out of interview time, but thrilled when he stuck around to sign our books and get a couple photos, including one for his personal album.

After staying to watch Greg speak to a large audience about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and achieving lasting peace, I walked into the crip, sunny, air, feeling inspired. It was then, that I realized that it had been a team of three, happy, healthy, highschool-educated girls who had conducted the interview today. Thinking of this, I felt both immensely grateful for the opportunities I've had, and hopeful that girls in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan will someday share similar ones.

Bonjour, tout le monde!

Jour 0

33 jours avant les Jeux d'Hiver 2010.

Aujourd'hui, je vais écrire mon premier blog en français pour tous les lecteurs bilingues et francophones.
Cette semaine a été très occupée, avec deux jours au bureau du BCELC. Lundi les Étudiants Connexion se sont rencontrés pour la deuxième fois pour parler de comment écrire et faire nos rapportages aux Jeux. Steve Ewen, journaliste du "Province" a visité l'équipe pour parler aux étudiants de son expérience personelle. Aussi, nous avons vu le programme du mois de février pour la première fois. Nous aurons beaucoup d'activités intéressantes et excitantes -- avant, pendant, et après Les Jeux!
Mardi, je suis retournée au bureau pour un webcast avec l'équipe "Sharing The Dream" ("Partagez le Rêve"). Nous avons présenté un autre webcast des écoles partenaires en Angleterre et au Canada.
Aussi, nous avons parlé de la citoyenneté globale, et comment nous sommes tous des citoyens mondiaux.J'ai expliqué que je suis membre de deux clubs à mon école, "The Global Issues Club" et "Rapid Change". Dans ces clubs, nous organisons des événements pour informer notre école des problèmes mondiaux, et pour créer du changement. Aussi, j'organise un tournoi de basketball pour appuyer une organisation locale qui s'appelle "Act II", et je suis une journaliste pour l'organisation "Free The Children".
Je voudrais poser la question à vous tous qui lisez ce blog: Qu'est que vous faites pour vous rendre vous-même un citoyen du monde?
Vous pouvez regarder tous les webcasts de "Partagez le Rêve" ici: http://www.sharingthedream.gov.bc.ca/resources/webcasts/welcome.php