At first it seems like a simple question, “What is the greatest challenge facing our world?” And the usual suspects inevitably pop into mind: poverty, war and hunger. They’re all good choices, but are they the greatest? Craig Kielburger recently spoke at Clanmore Montessori School on this subject, relating his first encounter with the question.
Craig Kielburger at Clanmore
At the age of 14 Craig Kielburger was asked to join the Dalai Lama and 30 other dignitaries to answer that question. “They summed it up by saying the greatest challenge is that we’re raising is a generation of passive bystanders,” Kielburger says. How then do you motivate parents and teachers to nurture compassion and empathy in this next generation? And with that, a desire to help? As a global nation our world has shrunk and more than ever our futures are tied together.
(WATCH: Craig Kielburger speaks at Clanmore about the will to change.)
At the age of 12 Kielburger realized that in order to create change you had to empower the individual with the idea that one person can make a difference with a single action. This idea became Free the Children, which has now broadened into a much bigger campaign known as Me to We, a global network of people and organizations who truly believe in Ghandi’s philosophy of “be the change you want to see in the world.”
* * * * *
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing our world? How do you inspire change in the people around you? Share your thoughts and stories with us in the Comments section below.
Related:
Dialogue Magazine: How Private Schools Are Addressing Diversity
Expert Q&A: Craig Kielburger on Diversity and Raising Compassionate Children
Camp Alumni: How Scouts Camp Helped Craig Kielburger Change the World
Life-Changing Summer Volunteer Ideas for Teenagers
About Wendi Percival
