15,000 youngsters join the 39th Marche 2/3
On this fine sunny 15th of May, 15,000 youngsters took to the streets of Montreal to proclaim loud and clear their civic commitment. They came from schools throughout Quebec, united by their desire to change the world they live in.
Ça chauffe sur la planète, BOUGE ! (Global warming: Walk the talk!) – That was the slogan for this 39th edition of the Marche 2/3. Climate change affects us all, and today young people were calling attention to the unfair impacts it is having: it is the rich countries that are emitting most of the greenhouse gases, but it is people in the poorest countries who are the main victims. The marchers played up this fact in positive and creative ways, confident that their individual actions and combined efforts will have a positive impact on their own future and that of generations yet to come. They showed their solidarity by creating magnificent banners and imaginative images portraying the global causes they are concerned about.
Laure Waridel, the sponsoring patron for the event, Charli Arcouette-Martineau, Roxane Bourdages, Mirianne Brûlé, Laurence Dauphinais, Éric Paulhus and Jason Roy-Léveillé, official spokespersons for the event (On your marks, get set – party!; Ramdam; Casino; Lance et compte; Une grenade avec ça?; Stan et ses stars) were especially proud and excited to have taken part in the 39th Marche 2/3, which got under way at 10 o'clock, just after the traditional "Solidarity Breakfast" hosted by Laure Waridel.
The 15,000 youngsters set out from Lafontaine Park and wound their way through the streets of the Plateau, past Mont Royal Avenue, and then made their way back to Lafontaine Park, where festivities wrapped up at 1 p.m. For the first time, Net surfers were able to follow the Marche 2/3 this year via the Web. See the capsules at www.oxfam.qc.ca.
CLUB 2/3, the youth division of Oxfam-Québec, extends its warmest thanks to the 380 volunteers, the Red Cross teams, the city of Montreal, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), without whose support this event would not have been possible.
