"I was able to stop the discrimination against HIV...so what I what I want you to take away from this is no matter what colour they are, no matter if they look different from you, embrace them because discrimination is not cool," said the five-time NBA champion.
Craig and Marc Kielburger, co-founders of Free the Children, the global Canadian-based charity behind We Day, took the stage intermittently to extol the benefits of the organization's clean water and school building initiatives in places like Kenya and Ghana.
"Each and every one of you out there, you're the leaders," said Craig, 29, to enthusiastic cheers from students Grades 1 to 12.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu addressed the responsive crowd three hours later, saying sticks, stones and words can all hurt.
"Language is very important," he said, recalling to his struggles in apartheid South Africa. "Language can make you feel like a non-entity. Language can make you feel, 'Hey, I am something.'"
He frequently broke out into high pitched giggles, returned in kind by the audience, during an onstage interview with Craig. He danced to South African singer Miriam Makeba as thousands of students twirled "lite" bracelets throughout the darkened stadium.
"They dream dreams. Everywhere, young people think that the world can be better. It is we adults, we oldies, who get to be cynical," Tutu said, laughing during a press conference earlier.
"Be the change," said Marc, 35, alluding to Mahatma Gandhi, "some of the most important words ever spoken in the history of social justice."
He drew on Gandhi's legacy of social change and empowerment to urge young people to act together toward campaigns like Free the Children's penny drive to raise $25 per student that will allow pump and well installations in places like Ecuador, India and Sierra Leone.
"We are united, we are strong, we are unbreakable," Marc exclaimed, to resounding cheers.
Taking the stage during the event were musical performers like OneRepublic and Shawn Desman, whose "Nobody does it like you" seemed re-affirmed the Kielburgers' message of individual empowerment.
The annual event, one of eight across Canada this year, included a speech and performance by American pop singer and anti-bullying advocate Demi Lovato. Her 'Stay Strong' tattoo was to be emulated by Amanda Todd, the 15-year-old Port Coquitlam girl driven to suicide last week by cyberbullying. The teen had been planning on getting the motto inked on her wrist, like her role model Lovato.
"Bullying is a very serious issue. People end up taking their lives because of it," Lovato said before her performance today.
She sees young women like Todd as particularly vulnerable, "because they're at an age when their bodies are changing...they're coming into themselves, but also...middle school, high school is a really hard time to make it through and rise above things."
The public derision that can accompany cyber-pulling leads Lovato to see the implications of social media as mixed: "Sometimes I think it's more a curse than it is a blessing. It's embarrassing enough to get bullied in person, but then when it's out in front of the entire world, online on your Twitter and Facebook, everyone sees it."
Shane Koyzdan, an aboriginal spoken word poet, encouraged solidarity in the face of adversity, reminding young people they weren't alone.
"Your despair has been felt by everyone. Your voice is your weapon, your thought your ammunition," he said.
Helping to open the event, Premier Christy Clark said Amanda Todd "needed someone to stand up," and urged 20,000 students at the stadium to be that person.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson urged students "to show the world what can be done (by) looking after each other and our cities."
Harold Munro, editor-in-chief of The Vancouver Sun, spoke about the power of narrative to create change.
"It's full of stories about people like you with...a passion for social justice," he said, referring to a special section of The Sun in students' take-home tote bags. "Newspapers have always informed people. I would urge you to read some of the stories and change the world."
To earn their seats at We Day last year, students across the country logged 1.7 million volunteer hours, raised $6 million and collected 400,000 kilograms in non-perishable food items.
These efforts tied into ongoing campaigns to install water pumps and wells abroad, relieve hunger at home and raise awareness of aboriginal issues, child labour and oppression of women and girls.
