April 2019—Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke at the closing ceremony of the 31st World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, hosted by Branksome Hall and held in Canada for the first time. 

 

A former journalist, author and Oxford University-educated Rhodes Scholar, Freeland has served as various international newspaper bureau chiefs, deputy editor of The Globe and Mail and managing director of Thomson Reuters. Her best-selling book Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else won the Lionel Gelber Prize.

 

In her keynote address as Branksome’s 2019 Rachel Phillips Belash Speaker, Freeland identified distinctive Canadian values such as the belief that “diversity is our strength” and our openness to immigration and trade. She also focused on our challenges. “The threats to liberal democracy are greater now than at any time since World War Two,” she said. “Over the last two or three decades, Western industrialized countries have seen a hollowing out of the middle class and we’re reaping the political consequences.” 

 

In her insightful and rousing speech, she ultimately conveyed hope and conviction about the upcoming generation’s talents and resolve to make a better world. 

 

Watch her entire talk here.

Watch her entire assembly talk here.

While answering student questions during assembly, Ms Poler discussed why she grew up with so many fears. She remarked that it began with her grandfather, who had been in a concentration camp and was a Holocaust survivor. Even though her grandfather was able to escape, her family still carried memories of fear and survival, and consequently lived life with great caution.

Today, Ms Poler is an internet sensation, inspiring thousands of people around the world to get out of their comfort zones with her mantra that fear is not an obstacle, it’s an opportunity. After all, Ms Poler believes the enemy of success is comfort, not failure.

Lullabies is a gritty coming-of-age novel lovingly set in run-down Montreal. She is the winner of two National Magazine Awards, while her second novel and a collection of poetry were both shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

O’Neill became a writer when she got her first journal as a gift. “I liked the idea of writing down everything that happened to me that day and turning my life into fiction,” she told the students. No sooner had she filled a journal, however, then her father, “who was involved in criminal activity,” would throw it out as he knew it would contain evidence that could be used against him in court.

Fortunately, a high school teacher admired a short story she’d written about a cockroach who tried to pass himself off as a cricket and told her she had a talent for writing, encouraging her to continue.

Ms O’Neill visited Branksome as the 2017 Rebecca CHISHOLM Clarkes’66 Speaker. The speaker series, which brings a well-known writer to Branksome Hall every year, was established in 1986 as a tribute to Rebecca by her classmates, friends and family.

“It is a wonderful gift for students to hear authors speak,” says organizer, faculty member Jillian Strimas. “The Rebecca CHISHOLM Clarkes’66 Speaker Series humanizes the writing process and allows young people the opportunity to hear directly from some of the most esteemed cultural producers in the country.”

Aspiring writers in the audience would have felt ready to tackle the page with all of the actionable wisdom Ms O’Neill shared. She writes from 9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., but advises new writers to start with just one hour and build from there. She recommends developing an aesthetic of your own, exploring all the art, music and literature that inspires you. For Heather, that included stories of her father’s gangster life in depression-era Montreal, stories which inspired her latest novel, The Lonely Hearts Hotel.

She advised young writers to take any opportunity to share their work, “because every time you do something, you get braver.” Not only that, but people’s reactions can be surprisingly encouraging. Ms O'Neill develops characters by starting with an idea and writing a lot of notes, “like small sketches for a larger painting.” Writer’s block? “Push your way through. Inspiration is not always in tune with creation.”

Most importantly, expect and embrace rejection. Lullabies for Little Criminals was rejected many times before being published. “Don’t reject yourself. Let someone else reject you!” she said. “You will get rejected if you are pushing boundaries and doing something new. Rejection feels bad, but just treat it as the flu. You realize it’s part of the human experience and there’s always something better on the other side.”

"Five different technologies took me from here to the edge of the universe," Ms Myers, the honorary guest speaker, told the more than 400 students, employees and parents of prize winners.

With an impressive film career spanning five decades, Ms Myers spoke about her experiences using cutting-edge technology, working with celebrities like John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Tom Cruise, and the production and release of the 3D IMAX film A Beautiful Planet. Ms Myers had the opportunity to train NASA astronauts to help capture the footage in space, while sometimes directing shots from her cellphone back on earth.

To read more about Ms Myers, please click here.

Ms Levy said that she owed much of her desire to pursue a career in the performing arts to her time studying under Director of Performing Arts Ms Judith Friend. Ms Friend inspired Sarah, who played Mrs. Webb in the Branksome production of Our Town, to follow her dramatic arts dreams.

"Branksome helped develop me as a writer, dancer and artist," she told the audience, which consisted of Senior and Middle School students, and invited guests.

She emphasized that it hasn't always been an easy road, and urged students to not take a career in the arts lightly. "You have to commit whole heartedly. I mean, really commit. Don't be afraid of committing because you might fail."

After completing her studies at Dalhousie University, Ms Levy faced numerous rejections before landing a role in Larry Crowne starring Tom Hanks.

While Ms Levy reminisced about her memories at Branksome Hall, she also shared an inspiring message with students—one that encouraged them to find their true passion. "Do what you love. If you really love it, go for it."

She concluded the afternoon by directing an important message to all aspiring creators in the audience. "We have a responsibility to infuse the world with creativity and imagination because there can never be enough art."

Ms Levy is currently filming the third season of Schitt's Creek.