Be an “upstander”, not a bystander.
That was the core message from Ambassador Bruce Heyman and his wife, Vicki, as they spoke to more than 16,000 enthusiastic young people at We Day Ottawa. In an interview with Liz Trinnear, a reporter at CTV’s ETALK, Ambassador and Mrs. Heyman emphasized the importance of getting involved in the community with the goal of bettering one’s country.
“Even if your goal seems overwhelming or just far-fetched, it’s never too big,” said Ambassador Heyman. “Once you have your goal in mind, you can start working backwards to figure out what resources you’ll need. I do the same thing as ambassador now — and it helps me to move the ball forward on issues important to both Canada and the United States, from trade to the environment to world affairs.”
The Heymans were part of a line-up that included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire; Rick Hansen; Henry Winkler; rapper Kardinal Offishall; and rock band Simple Plan, among others. Students attending We Day Ottawa earned admission to the event by making a commitment to take action on at least one local and one global initiative of their choice as part of the “We Act” program.
In addition to attending today’s National We Day, Ambassador and Mrs. Heyman opened their home to high-achieving civic-minded local youth for an “Evening of Champions.” During the event on Monday evening at Lornado, the official Ambassadorial residence, the students enjoyed talks by the Heymans, We Day co-founder Marc Kielburger, and motivational speaker Spencer West. For more on We Day, visit WeDay.com.
