Bruce Dickinson: Give the gift of communication
Bruce Dickinson has called for everyone to "speak" to one another more after being inspired by a young boy he met in Sierra Leone.
The Iron Maiden frontman meet a 12-year-old boy while he was working as a pilot in West Africa, who greeted him in Russian, and the youngster told the ‘Run to the Hills’ rocker he could speak in 14 African dialects and five European languages, but wasn’t able to go to school because of a lack of funds.
His chance meeting with the boy, whose name is unknown, made the 58-year-old musician realise how vital it is for people to communicate in person and not just on cell phones and the internet.
Speaking on stage at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London on Wednesday (03.22.17) for WE Day, Dickinson reached out of his pocket and pulled out an old Nokia phone, before telling the audience: "They’re going to throw that kid on the dustbin because nobody can afford to send him to school.
"I talk to people. And you can start a little movement right now because me talking to that little kid in the bush told me something in my life, we should be able to do something about this. We need to talk to people, not text them or email them. Talk to them.
"The most powerful thing you can do in the world is be in a room and talk to people. It’s more powerful than YouTube and more powerful than anything else in the world, that’s why you’re here and not watching this on Skype. When you leave here, run for the hills and talk to people, go back to your schools and communities and make something happen, give the gift of communication, talking and education."
WE Day is inspired by the non-profit Facebook page WE, which was created by activists and brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger with the aim of motivating young people to have a positive impact on their communities all over the world.
