Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Martin Luther King III and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Juan Manuel Santos Unite at WE Day UN in New York to Celebrate Youth Creating Lasting Social Change

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Sep 12, 2018, 07:00 ET

– Click here to apply for media accreditation to attend WE Day UN –
– WE Day UN will stream live at 10:10 a.m. ET on September 26, 2018 at we.org/watchweday –
– WE Day UN is in partnership with UNAIDS, UN Global Compact, and other UN agencies –
– WE Day UN is free to thousands of students in the Tri-State area thanks to partners led by Co-Title Sponsors Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft –

NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - WE Day, an unparalleled youth empowerment event, returns to New York to celebrate 19,000 youth and educators from across the Tri-State area for the second annual WE Day UN on September 26, 2018 at Barclays Center. Taking place during the conclusion of the 73^rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), WE Day UN is held in partnership with UNAIDS and UN Global Compact and other UN agencies.

WE Day UN will celebrate the year-round local and global acts of service taken by thousands of students from across the region. Joining the celebration are world-renowned speakers and performers including co-hosts Sofia Carson, Skai Jackson, Angie Martinez and Jenna Ortega, alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, March for Our Lives co-founders John Barnitt and Cameron Kasky, Celebrity Marauders, Monique Coleman, Darren Criss, Ebro Darden, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Martin Luther King III, Nas, Ingrid Nilsen, Democratic Nominee for the 14th Congressional District of New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, R.J. Palacio, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Juan Manuel Santos, Jordan Smith, Esera Tuaolo, Jacob Tremblay, Spencer West, Princess Beatrice of York and more.

With more additions still to be announced, this dynamic lineup is joined by WE co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger. Together, they will share their passion for change and energize the New York crowd with unforgettable performances and motivational speeches to kick-start another school year of doing good.

Students in attendance can't buy a ticket—they earn their way by taking action on one local and one global cause of their choice. Alongside partners, led by Co-Title Sponsors Allstate Foundation Good Starts Young, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft, WE Day UN will bring together young change-makers with speakers, performers and world leaders to celebrate the power young people have to make a difference the world.

"Young people are taking action every day to make the world a more inclusive space. I'm so inspired by the students breaking down barriers in equality and discrimination, this progress benefits all of us," said Sofia Carson, singer and actress. "The young people at WE Day UN are challenging stereotypes and empowering others to do the same, creating a global movement of equality and inclusivity."

This academic year, WE joins forces with UNAIDS, UN Global Compact, and other UN agencies to incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into more than 16,000 schools across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, promoting SDG #4 (Quality Education), through WE Schools. WE Schools is a free educational service learning program available to schools across America. As the UNGA brings together 195 countries to debate pressing world issues, WE Day UN will continue these instrumental conversations to motivate the next generation of global leaders to achieve the SDGs including eliminating poverty, promoting gender equality, access to clean water, and ending hunger. Together WE and the UN agencies believe that young people are powerful and active agents for change.

"We are surrounded by young leaders who are working together to positively impact their local and global communities. It's incredibly inspiring to partner with agencies of the United Nations, along with leading corporate citizens, to further engage young people who are committed to changing the world," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "WE Day UN will bring together thousands of students who are raising their collective voice as they work towards creating a future for all — this generation is speaking up and the world is listening."

More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong program WE Schools. Designed to enhance a school or community's existing social initiatives or spark new ones, WE Schools provides participants with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns, encouraging students to further their curricular learning and develop life skills to succeed beyond the classroom. In the 2017/2018 school year, over 5,000 U.S. schools and groups volunteered over 5 million hours and collected 3.5 million lbs. of food for local shelters through WE Schools. In the Tri-State area alone, students collected more than 97,000 lbs. of food for local shelters, and volunteered over one million hours, with a passion for taking action on causes including homelessness, food security, the environment, education and access to clean water.

The initial list of WE Day UN hosts, speakers and performers in alphabetical order, announced to date, includes:

Co-Hosts: Sofia Carson, Skai Jackson, Angie Martinez, Jenna Ortega

Speakers and Presenters: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, March for Our Lives co-founders John Barnitt and Cameron Kasky, Celebrity Marauders, Monique Coleman, Jaylynn Cortes, Ebro Darden, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Hebh Jamal, Craig and Marc Kielburger, Martin Luther King III, Clare Morneau, Ingrid Nilsen, Democratic Nominee for the 14th Congressional District of New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, R.J. Palacio, Karina Perez, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Juan Manuel Santos, Sparsh Shah, Haile Thomas, Jacob Tremblay, Esera Tuaolo, Spencer West, Princess Beatrice of York

Performers: Sofia Carson, Darren Criss, Everybody Dance Now!, Nas, Jordan Smith

WE Day is supported in the Tri-State area by co-chairs Carolyn Everson, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook; Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever; Ornella Barra, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; and Lynne Doughtie, Chairman and CEO, KPMG US. WE Day is supported nationally by co-chairs Tom Wilson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Allstate; Jane Francisco, Editorial Director of Hearst Lifestyle Group and Editor in Chief of Good Housekeeping; and Steve Robinson, Zilliance and Officer LAPD/Hawthorne PD & Janet Crown, Founder/CEO, Burn 60 Studios.

About WE
WE Day is part of WE, a family of organizations making doing good, doable. WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change, ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity, and WE Day, filling stadiums around the world with the greatest celebration of social good. WE enables youth and families to better the world—supporting 2,500+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service, shopping daily with an impact, and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world. Globally, WE teams in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have provided more than 1 million people with clean water, built 1,500 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org.