October 19, 2022 – Today, students and young leaders across Canada gathered to celebrate Global Dignity Day alongside more than 1 million of their peers in 80 countries.

This year’s global event, hosted by Global Dignity Canada, TakingITGlobal and the Center for Global Education, connected participants from 18 sites in 11 countries through a video-conference, while thousands of others participate in the celebration via live-stream.

The theme for this year’s Global Dignity Day celebration, Unique & Connected in Kindness, will focus on building inclusive global communities rooted in kindness. Students heard from Global Dignity Role Models, Amy Mapara, Senior Manager for Youth Engagement Strategy at the Canadian Red Cross, and Jon Collins, Chief Development Officer of HopeAir, who will share stories of dignity and kindness in action.

Students enjoyed a musical performance from Tara Baswani, internationally acclaimed creator, UN SDG’s accelerator, environmentalist, Co-Founder of LembasWorks and member of Global Dignity’s International Council of Advisors, who will share her song HUM. HUM, which means “Us” in Hindi, was specially created to align to the Global Dignity mission to #UniteKindness and inclusively connect our unique actions to create planetary care and wellbeing for all life.

“Kindness is the cultural fabric that enables greater dignity,” said Global Dignity Board Chair and Canadian Country Chair, Giovanna Mingarelli. “It is our hope that by acknowledging existing inequalities, students will see that they have the ability to impact and enrich the lives of others through their own actions and choices.”

This year’s theme built on Global Dignity’s ongoing #UniteKindness campaign, which aggregates and showcases kindness campaigns around the world. Since the launch of the #UniteKindness campaign in 2020, over 3.5 million acts of kindness have been aggregated across 40 kindness campaigns.

In order to scale the #UniteKindness movement even further, UNESCO’s Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Education and Peace (MGIEP) is collaborating with Global Dignity to spread kindness through their #KindnessMatters initiative, which was formally announced during the video conference event.

“It’s important to put love and kindness into action: that’s what building inclusive communities is all about!” said Olivia Bechthold, the Executive Director of Global Dignity in Canada. “This campaign shows us how easy it is to love oneself, others and the world in really simple ways, from helping a stranger to donating food”.

Generous sponsors of this year’s Global Dignity Day event include: TakingItGlobal, the Centre for Global Education, Global Groove for Peace, LembasWorks, Pondstone Digital Marketing, M&C Consulting, Hello Friday Marketing and Communications, and MC2, Inc.

Co-founded at the World Economic Forum by HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant and author and philosopher Pekka Himanen, Global Dignity teaches the concept of dignity—every person’s equal and inherent value—to promote inclusion, equality and a greater sense of our shared humanity. In 2021, the organization reached over 8 million people directly and 50 people indirectly around the world.

More information and details of the international celebration live stream can be found at: www.globaldignity.ca.

February 17, 2022 – Yesterday, Global Dignity Canada continued their celebrations of Canada’s inaugural National Kindness Week with a Canada-wide videoconference, connecting students and classrooms from British Columbia to Nova Scotia.

In partnership with the Center for Global Education, the event was attended by over 100 students in 10 classrooms from coast-to-coast-to-coast, and live streamed to hundreds of others across Canada and around the world.

“Kindness is the cultural fabric that enables greater dignity,” said Olivia Bechthold, Executive Director of Global Dignity Canada. “Experts have determined that showing kindness changes the brain, and that selfless acts of giving provide physical and emotional benefits needed for a well-rounded individual. This is why it is essential for children to learn kindness early on.”

Students who participated in yesterday’s event ranged in age from 6 to 12, and shared their definition of kindness and visions for a kinder world. Students offered their suggestions for acts of kindness which included everything from sharing a smile or hug, to anti-bully and anti-discrimination.

The event also included a keynote address from Yasir Naqvi, MP for Ottawa Center, who has been a champion of Kindness Week in Ottawa, and Canada, for more than a decade. Mr. Yaqvi shared many stories of kindness, including speaking about Rabbi Reuven Bulka, the inspiration for Canada’s National Kindness Week, and telling students about the first friend he made when immigrating to Canada as a child.

“I can’t stop smiling seeing all these beautiful children from across the country”, Mr. Naqvi said, telling students “you are taking part in something so exciting, something so unique.”

Bill S-223, the Kindness Week Act, received Royal Assent on June 3, 2021 to become law in Canada, designating the third week in February as National Kindness Week. The inspiration for this bill, the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, founder of Kind Canada, started the first Kindness Week in Ottawa 14 years ago, and with the passing of this bill, Canada is now the first country in the world to observe a National Kindness Week.

Co-founded at the World Economic Forum by HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant and author and philosopher Pekka Himanen, Global Dignity teaches the concept of dignity—every person’s equal and inherent value—to promote inclusion, equality, kindness and a greater sense of our shared humanity. Since 2006, the organization has reached over 4 million young people around the globe.

A full recording of the videoconference event is available here.

February 17, 2022 – On Tuesday, February 15, Global Dignity Canada convened political figures, partners and friends for a virtual press conference to kick-off Canada’s inaugural National Kindness Week.

Introduced as a private members bill by Senator Jim Munson, Bill S-223, the Kindness Week Act, received Royal Assent on June 3, 2021 to become law in Canada, designating the third week in February as National Kindness Week.

The press conference included remarks from Senator Munson, as well as Michael Barrett Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, and Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Member of Parliament for Saint-Laurent, who were both instrumental in passing the Kindness Week legislation through the House of Commons.

The press conference was moderated by Giovanna Mingarelli, Chair of Global Dignity Canada and Jeff Turner, Senior Manager, Indigenous Partnerships and Special Projects at Algonquin College and former Vice President of Kind Canada, and included remarks from Shmuel Bulka, son of the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, founder of Kind Canada, and Jamie Bell, Manitoba Chair, Global Dignity Canada.

The inspiration for the Kindness Act bill, the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, founder of Kind Canada, started the first Kindness Week in Ottawa 14 years ago. “For my father, making kindness week national was never the end – it was a means to the end,” said Schmuel Bulka, speaking of his father Rabbi Bulka, “the goal was to create a kinder Canada, a kinder world.”

With the adoption of Bill S-223, Canada is now the first country in the world to pass kindness week legislation. “Imagine being the first country in the world to have a kindness week. Imagine the possibilities of more acts of kindness in our homes, in our schools, in our institutions and in the private sector,” said Senator Jim Munson, who introduced the legislation. “Now more than ever we need acts of kindness and empathy.”

The timeliness of Canada’s first National Kindness Week, among the ongoing turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, was a common theme among press conference speakers. “It is the perfect time for Canadians across all walks of life to take a moment and to try to empathize and be kind to folks they might have disagreements with,” said Michael Barrett, continuing with the importance of Canadians, “to carry on in that spirit of kindness and community that has seen us through the pandemic that we’ve experienced, and continue to experience.”

Speaking to her inspiration to support the Kindness Week Act, Emmanuella Lambropoulos explained, “when it was introduced to me I jumped on the occasion to push this forward as soon as possible,” continuing with “I knew that this aligned perfectly with my values and that this would help make Canada a better place for everyone.”

Closing out the series of speakers, Jamie Bell left attendees with a sense of inspiration for a kinder future, stating “today, let’s continue to honour Rabbi Bulka’s vision by working together to support those new beginnings for this next generation. Thank you all for supporting the hard work that went into creating this National Kindness Week legislation, and for the exciting and inspiring experiences that I’m sure we’re going to see in the years to come.” He closed his remarks with the profound quote, “this year is the first time, next year it will be a tradition.”

A full recording of the press conference is available here.

Ottawa, February 10, 2022 – From February 18-25, 2022, Canada will observe the inaugural National Kindness Week. Introduced as a private members bill by Senator Jim Munson, Bill S-223, the Kindness Week Act, received Royal Assent on June 3, 2021 to become law in Canada, designating the third week in February as National Kindness Week.

What: Press conference to celebrate Canada’s inaugural National Kindness Week.

When: February 15, 2022 – 9:00 am ET

Where: Zoom

Dial-in details: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81178274133

Who: The press conference will be moderated by Jeff Turner, former Vice President of Kind Canada and Global Dignity Champion, and Giovanna Mingarelli, Chair of Global DignityCanada.

The event will also include remarks from:

• Shmuel Bulka, son of the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, Founder of Kind Canada
• Senator Jim Munson, who introduced the Kindness Week Act
• Conservative Member of Parliament, Michael Barett, Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes
• Liberal Member of Parliament for Saint-Laurent, Emmanuella Lambropoulos
• Jamie Bell, Manitoba Chair, Global Dignity Canada

The inspiration for the Kindness Act bill, the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, founder of Kind Canada, started the first Kindness Week in Ottawa 14 years ago, and with the passing of this bill, Canada is now the first country in the world to pass such legislation.