2023 in Review / Looking Ahead to Davos / Personal Update!

I recap the year. I also share some final takeaways from the recent COP28 climate talks in Dubai. Plus details for the upcoming pre-launch party for my forthcoming book.

Dec 22, 2023

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I first want to thank all of you for reading along this year. It’s been another impactful year with accomplishments that would not have been possible without your help. With the complexity of the issues that we confront every day, there is no way we can move the needle alone.

Our work this year proved that collective advocacy and rallying around each other to come up with concrete solutions to the world’s most urgent issues is more important than ever. We look forward to an even stronger 2024 with your continued support.

On a personal note - as many of you are aware, I’m working on my first book. With that in mind, I’m extremely grateful to our friends at Changing Our World for organizing a Pre-Launch Party, which will take place on Tuesday, January 30th, 2024, @ 5:30 pm here in New York. It will feature drinks, nibbles, and a few remarks. Please fill out the form here to RSVP and hear more about the event.

Also, some of you have been asking for photos of Miki. Here she is at one month old!

I’m excited to write to you all in the new year. Here are some final updates on the year that’s been:

2023 in Review: 4.2 million actions taken this year

In 2023, 4.2 million actions were taken on the Global Citizen platform worldwide to protect communities from extreme poverty. That’s 1.2 million actions to defend the planet, 1.5 million actions to defeat poverty, and 1.5 million actions to demand equity over 12 months!

Through campaigns like Global Citizen: NOW and Global Citizen Festival: New York and new events like Global Citizen: Power Our Planet and Move Afrika: Rwanda, actions drove monumental impact to deliver historic commitments to end poverty.

Global artists like Kendrick Lamar, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Billie Eilish, and more joined world leaders and activists on stage to help drive action to help defend the planet, ensure equity, and end poverty once and for all.

See a snapshot of GC’s collective action in the 2023 Impact Report. Feel free to share tis collective impact on your social channels with these assets.

GC in Davos. I hope to see you there!

We’re excited to hit the ground running in 2024 with a robust presence in Davos for the World Economic Forum, held from January 15-19, 2024. We’ll be hosting panel discussions and attending numerous side events/networking sessions to discuss strategies to leverage public support for the bold policies our world desperately needs and to begin to rebuild trust.

The 2023 Global Solidarity Report and Open Society Barometers showed a massive deficit in trust in the ability of our institutions to deliver. But they also showed that citizens back many of the solutions needed to meet the economic and livelihood aspirations of both current and future generations, bring clean energy to all in a just and fair way, and end poverty. Thus, 2024 presents a window of opportunity to turn the page and seize on this public support.

I'm looking forward to participating in several events in a few weeks. If you or your delegation will be there and would like to connect or learn more about our WEF plans, please email my colleague Annabel at annabel.hogg@globalcitizen.org.

3 Climate Takeaways for Business Leaders in 2024

COP28 delivered at least 3 pivotal developments that will warrant the attention of every corporate sustainability leader in 2024. I break these down in my latest Forbes piece. Please consider following my Forbes page to receive my latest articles. The ‘follow button’ appears like the following:

The EU Budget fight continues….

As we reported last week, the EU hasn’t yet agreed on the final review of its 7-year budget, but so far, things don’t look good for funding for the fight against extreme poverty, hunger, and climate change. As we continue to work closely with our partners in Brussels and across the EU, our joint reaction was picked up in Devex.

… as does the German Budget Crisis

After a Constitutional Court ruling in November, the coalition government in Germany was left with a €60-billion hole in its budget. After four weeks of government consultations, the coalition finally presented their solution last week – cuts in climate investments and 400 million euros less for development cooperation in 2024. Global Citizen and four other CSOs called upon the government to refrain from short-sighted cuts and instead to be a reliable and stable partner in the fight against poverty, hunger, and the climate crisis. The Bundestag is set to approve the budget proposal after a final session of the budget committee on 18 January.

What does the $83B pledged at COP28 actually mean?

Needless to say, my colleague Friederike Röder is skeptical. To wrap up COP28, she questions the viability of tens of billions of dollars in climate financing promises made in Dubai. She points us to concrete solutions to scale funding for climate change and other priorities. You can read her op-ed here.

Global Solidarity Report - HIRING!

Following the successful launch of the Global Solidarity Report in September 2023, our partners at Global Nation are looking for an exceptional person to build the program into a powerful force for global solidarity, mutuality, and dignity. Please share this posting or apply if you are interested!

Support our partners at the UNESCO Global Observatory for Youth Empathy and Engaged Citizenship

Our friends at Penn State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education are launching the UNESCO Global Observatory for Youth Empathy and Engaged Citizenship. The observatory’s vision is to become a global think tank for cutting-edge research, educational programs, policy, and action that puts empathy education and global citizenship at the forefront of improving our troubled world.

The team is asking partners worldwide to invest what they can in creating the Observatory. Information on donating and the Observatory can be found here, along with a short video about the campaign here.

Accenture’s Sustainability Innovation Challenge - FINAL EPISODE

This week, GC’s corporate partnerships team launched the FINAL episode of an 8-part video series highlighting Global Citizen’s Global Partner, Accenture, and their Sustainability Innovation Challenge - a six-month program that empowers Accenture employees and students worldwide to build knowledge, leverage tools, and pressure-test ideas for real-world solutions to address sustainability challenges.

The eighth episode highlights Accenture's impactful collaboration with Junior Achievement and UNICEF's Generation Unlimited. Together, they have spearheaded a program dedicated to empowering 25,000 young individuals across 18 countries with the essential tools and knowledge needed to address the most critical challenges within their communities. I couldn't agree more with the message in the video: young people are part of the solution and can change the world!

It’s been an exciting journey to assemble this 8-part video series, showcasing the remarkable impact Accenture people and partners are achieving daily to tackle sustainability and social challenges and drive positive change worldwide. To everyone who watched the videos, thank you for joining us on this incredible exploration of innovation, collaboration, and transformative impact.

The final episode can be found on YouTube - have a watch, and let the team know what you think in the comments on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter!

My Weekend Reading List

A few hopeful perspectives going into 2024:

How to leverage powerful narrative to influence change locally and globally? (featuring our very own Mwandwe Chileshe!)
The road ahead reaches a turning point in 2024, by Bill Gates
Global identity: The mindset for climate success
VIDEO: The Solidarity Code: Cracking the Collective Action Puzzle | Hassan Damluji | TED x Arendal (Hassan is one of the co-founders of Global Citizen and the 2023 Global Solidarity Report is in large part his brainchild).