A Coronation, Re-capping Global Citizen Now, and efforts to Act Today, to Save Tomorrow

A lot has happened in the past two weeks since my last weekly update. Check it out!

May 05, 2023

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Firstly, after months of hard work, Global citizen’s second-ever Global Citizen NOW thought leadership summit was a smashing success, and I’m incredibly proud of what everyone was able to pull off together!

Below, I’m giving you a recap of an extraordinary two days, announcing the launch of a new campaign plus an upcoming roundtable, as well as bringing you all a couple of other highlights from the last week.

Additionally, in case you missed my article from the past week about my grandfather’s past in British Mandatory Palestine, feel free to check it out here. One of my personal side projects is to raise further awareness about this period in history and connect with others who might know more. If you want to learn more about this period in time, and the sequence of events leading up to it, check out this recent podcast from The Rest Is History.

How The Commonwealth Can Combat Period Poverty With King Charles III's Support

Ahead of King Charles's Coronation tomorrow, I wanted to re-share with you all this article I wrote last month about how a reinvigorated Commonwealth could be a force for good in the world on issues from polio eradication to gender equality. Check out this Twitter thread on the topic for more too.

In the article, I look at how as the new Head of the Commonwealth, His Majesty King Charles III faces the formidable challenge of reinvigorating an institution that has struggled to maintain its relevance in modern times and has been criticized as a prevailing vestige of British colonialism. The Commonwealth's success or failure will directly impact millions of people worldwide. By prioritizing critical issues such as period poverty and leveraging effective leadership, it can emerge as a potent force for transformative change around the world. Read the full article here for more.

Recapping GC NOW

Global Citizen was proud to host its second-ever Global Citizen NOW thought-leadership summit, which took place at the Glasshouse in New York on April 27 and 28. The event featured 30 unique panel segments and 8 hours of programming that covered a range of topics from climate change to gender equality, from technology to fashion. Global Citizen was also pleased to host six policy side events, as well as the Global Citizen Prize Awards Ceremony, which recognized the inspiring work of 5 prize winners from 5 countries. Voices were heard from across all spheres of society, from activists to artists, to world leaders, to facilitate discussion and cross-sector collaboration to drive action to solve the most urgent issues facing humanity and our planet.

One particular highlight was being called in last minute to moderate a panel, titled “Action in the Amazon”, featuring Rodrigo Medeiros, senior Brazil associate of Re:Wild; State Secretary for Environment and Sustainability of Para, Brazil, Mauro O’de Almeida; Global Coordinator and Cofounder of Loss and Damage Youth Coalition, and GC Prize Winner, Ineza Umuhoza Grace; and CEO of Dubai Cares, Dr. Tariq Al Gurg. Beyond the need to invest in loss and damage, this panel highlighted the importance of investing in education as a tool for fighting climate change, as well as the disproportionate impacts of climate-related disasters on women and children. As part of this panel, Medeiros pledged, on behalf of Re:Wild, to re-invest $5 million to support reforestation efforts in the Amazon.

If you weren’t able to join, be sure to download the Global Citizen app to rewatch the full experience, check out some clips below, and stay tuned for a more thorough policy recap to be completed in the next week. You can also check out this piece on our website, to see How We Drove Impact and Action on Climate, Gender Equality, and More as well as this piece on the new and improved Global Citizen app.

POWER OUR PLANET: Act Today, Save Tomorrow

Global Citizen NOW also saw the launch of the Power Our Planet campaign, on stage with Hugh Jackman and Mia Mottley.

The campaign calls for three big changes: governments need to deliver on past promises of $16.7 billion in climate funding for vulnerable countries that have been promised but not yet delivered; development banks need to reform in order to free up funding; and big polluters need to do their part to combat climate change.

Power our Planet featured prominently across panels at GC NOW, from the opening segment on the power of action, with President Ursula von der Leyen, Hugh Jackman and Sabrina Dhowre Elba (watch here), to a climate panel with PM Mia Mottley, Vanessa Nakate, and Chris Martin speaking on the climate of urgency, moderated by Raj Shah, and calling on world leaders to address inequalities in investment, development, and climate impact. We were also pleased to be joined virtually by President Macron, interviewed by Joe Scarborough, on the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, and highlighting the need to finance the future to protect our planet.

The campaign has already generated much coverage across global platforms - from the Washington Post and Times Live South Africa, to Reuters and AP News, to name a few, and we could not be more excited for what the next two months hold in store as we build up to the campaign culmination on June 22 in Paris.

Global Citizen and Cisco “Power Our Planet” Virtual Roundtable

In honor of the launch of our Power Our Planet campaign, Global Citizen will be hosting a virtual roundtable on Monday, alongside our partners at Cisco, to discuss how companies can lead by both setting and meeting science-based carbon reduction targets, and by making transformative investments in countries facing the worst effects of climate change.

The discussion will be moderated by Hugh Evans, and panelists include Nigel Topping, Global Ambassador, High Level Climate Champions; Fran Katsoudas, EVP & Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, Cisco and Co-Chair Global Citizen Board of Directors; Chris Martin of Coldplay, Global Citizen International Festival Curator; and Ineza Umuhoza Grace, 2023 Global Citizen Prize Winner, Co-Founder of the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition.

The roundtable will take place on Monday May 8 at 3pm EST / 9pm CET. If you’re interested in attending, please reach out to annabel.hogg@globalcitizen.org.

‘The need to feed the world’: Global Citizen NOW Summit

I was incredibly pleased to be joined by Michael McCormack, Australian Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific. McCormack moderated one of our side events, titled Reimagining Development Cooperation, which we hosted in partnership with the International Democrat Union, and which featured remarks by Stephen Harper, Former Prime Minister of Canada; Erna Solberg, Former Prime Minister of Norway; Stefan Lofven, Former Prime Minister of Sweden; and Samira Bawumia, Second Lady of Ghana.

McCormack recaps his GC NOW experience in this interview with Sky News, where he highlights “the need to feed the world”, specifically investing in and empowering smallholder farmers, and calling on businesses to step up in the fight against climate change and food insecurity. As McCormack put it, “open, frank, and robust discussion is important”, in the road to ending extreme poverty, and indeed this is what was aimed for with GC NOW.

Recapping a Week in Kiribati and Fiji

It seems like a lifetime ago that I joined Rotary International and UNICEF on an impact visit to Fiji and Kiribati. I’m still in the process of putting together a thorough recap for you all, but in the meantime wanted to share this thread published on Global Citizen’s Impact Twitter account, recapping the critical work that Rotary and UNICEF are doing to protect 100k children across 9 pacific nations from deadly diseases through immunizations and health worker training.

Global Citizen is Hiring!

Are you or someone you know passionate about our mission, and want to join what will most certainly be another impactful year of action? If so, come work with Global Citizen! The team is hiring for a Government Relations and Advocacy Manager (Germany).

If this sounds like you, please throw your name in the hat! Or if you know someone who might be a good fit, do share across your networks.

My Weekend Reading List

That’s all for this week! Hope you’re able to catch some GC NOW highlights, whether on our app or across social media.

As always, if you’re enjoying the weekly newsletter format, and want even more, you can subscribe to my Substack here where I publish reviews, lists and articles on a regular basis.

All best,

Mick