Students speak out for global awareness

Milia Fisher, Carrie Fjeldheim, and Joe Celentino - planners of the Global Awareness Fair

Looking down from the second story of Parker’s Library, one can sense the bubbling activity below. On the library lawn, the entire student population of Francis Parker High School has assembled for a day of music, food, and cultural and political learning. World dancers are performing, while the smell of freshly cooked burritos and pizza permeates the air. This was the scene on September 19 at the Global Awareness Fair, 2008.

The fair, which was hosted by our Youth in Action Group and the Amnesty International Club, worked to make students more globally aware. As one of three students who planned the fair (along with Milia Fisher and Carrie Fjeldheim), I can attest to the success of the event.

For me, the events leading to the Global Awareness Fair began long before the planning process. Last Spring, Parker’s Library invited Craig Kielburger to speak about Free The Children. Inspired by his work, we established Parker’s own Free The Children club.

Before the fair, our club’s biggest event to date was our three-day Vow of Silence campaign, which involved nearly a quarter of Francis Parker High School’s student body. We thought that was big, but this scale of a project was unprecedented for any Parker club.

The event itself proved to be a stunning success. The 19 charity organization booths were packed with students, signing up to help people across the world. At the world food court, each vendor agreed to donate at least 12 percent of the day’s profits to our cause. Overall, the fair raised over $3,600, which has been split between Free The Children and Amnesty International.

The question of the day was easy to pose, but harder to answer: “What does it mean to be globally aware?” We instead tried to demonstrate it by combining a few main themes of global awareness into the fair. To promote cultural awareness, we invited African dancers and had a “world food court.” To promote social responsibility, NGOs distributed information about world issues. And to promote activism, there was a voting registration booth and the information and resources to start a club, raise money or volunteer to help others.

Milia, in a speech at the fair, said, “The types of changes we are trying to make do not come easily or quickly. We must work constantly to ensure a brighter future.” To accomplish what change we can, everyone has to contribute in some small way. The Global Awareness Fair helped to provide students with that ability, whether in the form of reducing daily energy usage, volunteering to tutor refugees or purchasing child labour-free clothing.

We were inspired by Craig Kielburger to make a difference in the lives of children, so by planning the Global Awareness Fair, we hoped to educate others about social injustice, inspiring them to find causes of their own. I think we succeeded!

Joe Celentino
Francis Parker High School

To plan your own event, download our awareness-raising and fundraising guides and check out The Spark! Your guide to igniting social change.

Free The Children is the largest network of children helping children through education in the world, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has an established track-record of success, with three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and partnerships with the United Nations and Oprah’s Angel Network.