-mails for a change
Book a speaker today! Fill out the date request form.
Download the Me to We Speaking Tour information package
For more information please contact our Tour Coordinator, Connie Bannister. E-mail: connie@freethechildren.com.
Call Connie Bannister at 1.416.925.5894 ext. 310
We call our annual youth speaking rosters “tours” because we think of our speakers as rock stars of social justice. They don’t have roadies or a tour bus, and they may not end up on the cover of Rolling Stone, but they’ve done more to change the world than any other young people we’ve met with their contagious passion.
2008-2009 is our seventh year touring across North America. We’ve spoken to 500,000 young people over the years—that’s half a million kids fired up about Me to We and passing on the message.
Info package
Download the full info package as a pdfA Me to We Speaking event isn’t just another speech. It’s the beginning of a journey. Our featured tour facilitators will roll into your town ready to challenge preconceptions and stir audiences of all sizes and ages to action. Our speaking tours have empowered more than 500,000 youth to take action in their schools and communities.
What do these speakers bring? (Other than suitcases full of dirty laundry after weeks on tour, of course.)
Stories. Prepare to have your mind blown—and your eyes opened. Our speakers have been to some of the world’s poorest places. Their stories will light a spark in students, showing them how to create the world they want.
Action. Get ready. It’s time to take action. Through fun, dynamic workshops, youth will gain the practical know-how to and become ambassadors for leadership and volunteerism in their own schools and communities.
Connections. Long after the event ends, teachers and students can keep living “We” with helpful resources, curriculum and the support of the cool, dedicated Me to We team.
Meet the teams
The Team: Go Global
Emily Payne
Interesting Fact: Emily has held a wide range of odd jobs including: selling furniture, writing film scripts, pulling out invasive plants from local parks, shelving books and driving a golf cart at an airport.Emily’s been a passionate advocate for social justice since the age of 16, when she first became involved with Free The Children. The campaigns she organized at her school included a Halloween for Hunger food drive and a 5K run that raised $6,000 to build a school in Kenya. Since then, she’s led projects promoting children’s rights, including a seven-day Vow of Silence and the GuluWalk for Children of Uganda. She volunteered with Free The Children for a year before becoming its B.C. Regional Network Coordinator in 2005. Since then, Emily’s organized and inspired over 5,000 young people across British Columbia.
Spencer West
Interesting Fact: Spencer is known for Italian cooking, cartwheels, handstands and bird impressions.Spencer first became involved with Leaders Today by participating in a schoolbuilding project in Kenya in March 2008, in conjunction with the Wesley Smiles Coalition. Travelling halfway around the globe opened Spencer’s eyes to his true calling: motivating and inspiring the youth of the world. He is now a part of the Go Global speaking tour, helping young people to believe in themselves and become more socially involved in their communities and abroad.
