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‘I refuse to believe views that this is a lost generation’

On Wednesday the 7th of March at 2:30, I stood in the very familiar location of Olympic way, Wembley. Nevertheless, it didn’t feel the same. I didn’t leave Wembley Arena with the same attitude towards society that I entered it with. Hayley Mulenda, motivational speaker’s words left a lasting effect on me. She said ‘I refuse to believe views that this is a lost generation’ and when I left Wembley Arena that day, I believed it. This is why I didn’t feel the same, things had indeed changed. That day, I learnt to believe that there are enough people in this world that care about social issues and that if and when we are joined together those issues can be resolved. That afternoon I learnt our generation is not in fact lost. WE DAY is testament to that.

WE DAY is a day we celebrate all those who embody the WE MOVEMENT, a movement that believes that by bringing people together, we can create an even better world. This year Future Foundations were invited for the second time to witness how many wonderfully socially active young people and teachers there are doing admirable work in their local and global communities. All those invited had to earn their place at that arena, and considering there were 13,000 people present, it’s a demonstration of how much of a positive influence this movement has in just the UK alone.

The star studded event featured appearances from well know faces like: Alexandra Burke, Katie Piper and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie amongst many more. The appearance that really struck a chord with me was a speech given Musharaf Asghar and his teacher, Mr Burton. You may remember them from Educating Yorkshire! If they are familiar faces to you, you may also remember that Musharaf suffered with a stutter and therefore found it difficult to communicate and as a result found himself disengaging in class. Howbeit, his devoted teacher Mr Burton did not allow Musharraf’s speech impediment to be the reason he could not fulfil his full potential. Together, they worked on methods to improve Musharraf’s confidence – even trying speaking whilst listening to music (like in the kings speech). I gazed in awe and admiration as I watched a young man who once could not finish speaking a short sentence to members of his class; speak a lengthy amount of speech in front of 12,000 strangers. He hadn’t even finished his first sentence when the arena boomed with the sound of applause. All it took was perseverance – a skill that I had lacked, but wanted to change once I saw where it can get you.  I guess changing behaviours is what the WE MOVEMENT does. It causes the people who do not fight for causes that affect everyone to realise what’s going on around them and feel motivated to do so.

The founders of the #WEMOVEMENT brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger began the day with the quote “Don’t ask yourselves, why now? ask yourself, why not now?” and that’s the question I will leave here. You didn’t have to be at Wembley Arena to know what you’re passionate about changing. You just need the perseverance to pursue it and in doing so you will find out there are so many others like you. Wanting to make a change.