One teacher’s initiative at Blessed Sacrament Elementary School in Vancouver has grown from humble beginnings into an international program, giving students from 1,000 schools access to politicians, activists, athletes, actors, and more.
Young Citizens of the World (Jeunes Citoyens du Monde) provides world-renowned speakers that students can listen to and interact with over a video call for free.
The group’s most recent speaker was Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Pakistani Girls Education activist Malala Yousafzai, who made headlines around the world in October 2012 when a masked gunman shot her in a school bus for her advocacy.
During a Zoom call, Yousafzai fielded questions from students and teachers from around the world, including Ontario, Ukraine, and Madagascar, about his daughter and their work to promote girls’ education across the world.
Yousafzai told the students he was inspired to become a “feminist father” by watching his five sisters growing up, who “could not dream beyond being wives, mothers and grandmothers.”
“My human dignity inspired me,” he told the students. “My rights inspired me.”
The organization he runs with his daughter, the Malala Fund, helps provide “quality, free, and safe education” to millions of girls around the world.
The group’s students and teachers also recently had the opportunity to meet with Canada’s Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič during his recent visit to Vancouver.
Young Citizens of the World was started by Blessed Sacrament Elementary Grade 5 teacher Marc-Andre Tremblay. Through the last four and a half years the organization has hosted 76 speakers for students in 22 countries.
Speakers have included Toronto Raptors player James Johnson (a favourite of many of the students), Governor General of Canada Mary Simon, then-Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, NPD leader Jagmeet Singh, and B.C. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry, among others.
Speakers and volunteers have been incredibly generous, said Tremblay. “Everything is done for free. Some of these people would ask for $10,000 – $50,000 for speaking engagements. We have never had to pay.”
Blessed Sacrament has been supportive of the program, and principal Reine Sader Mykyte said she is glad Young Citizens was there during the pandemic to “bring the world to the students while they couldn’t go out.”
Tremblay says he chooses speakers who will help students develop empathy, communications skills, and creative thinking “to help them solve problems and become leaders.”
Tremblay tries to incorporate faith speakers, and an effort is made for the Young Citizens to support the priorities of the school, such as the focus on peace and reconciliation.
Some notable Indigenous speakers have been Inuit activist Ashley Cummings, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde, and, more recently, the previous Assembly of First Nations National Chief Roseanne Archibald.
This focus on peace and reconciliation, in particular, led to a watershed moment for Tremblay when he received an email from Simon in 2021. The organization is now under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada.
He has received letters of recognition from various dignitaries around the world, including King Charles III, who commended the organization for its work.
One student and long-time member of Citizens of the World, Vivienne, told The B.C. Catholic her participation in the club has been a wonderful experience.
Her favourite speaker was American actress Lea Thompson, best known for her role in the Back to the Future film trilogy. Vivienne said she enjoyed the interview so much that it inspired her to try acting.
