For the past 6 years I have produced a Kidz Village at Earthdance Festival in Northern California. (through my other small biz- Magikidz– www.magikidz.com)
Earthdance is a global ‘dance for peace’ event that takes place simultaneously in thousands of locations around the world. Every year on Sunday we do a Kids Peace Parade from our Village to the main stage, complete with stilt walkers, samba bands, and giant puppets. I get on the stage with 20-30 kids and pass the microphone to them for their turn to share their message to all the adults listening below.
It is always a cute and heartwarming experience.

How I find these mini messengers is by getting on the stage at the Kids Variety/Talent show and asking who has a message to share with the adults and isn’t afraid to say it into a microphone on a big stage. There are always hands that shoot up right away, and I write down their names, do a brief practice with them (using my hand as a pretend microphone) and that is that. What is so great is that these kids know that they have a message and the courage to deliver it. What is sad is how rarely we take the time to elicit their messages and really listen to them.

The same sentiment is equally true for adults. Many of us are carriers of great compassionate concern, insight, and experiential wisdom that could be crystallized into powerful messages- if only it were asked of us. If only we were all asked to distill and share our messages with the world.

Below is a video called “The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes” of a young adolescent who didn’t wait for someone to come to her school and ask if she had a message, she got herself to a UN Conference and did a poignant speech, acting as the voice piece for all future generations.

The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 minutes

So the moral of this story is, identify our messengers and then…
Pass them the Mic!