A Personal Milestone, Recollections from Botswana + A New Podcast
I celebrated my one-year wedding anniversary back on the African continent amidst a jam-packed week. There is a lots to get involved in as the countdown for the Global Town Hall begins.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
If you follow me on social media, you’ll know that I’ve had a busy week, traveling across Africa from South Africa to Botswana and more. You’re probably wondering what I’ve been up to, and although I can’t say any more at the moment, I will encourage you all to stay tuned for some exciting announcements to come in the coming weeks!
Until then, I’ll leave you with some updates on the work back in New York and globally!
Also, on the personal front, I’ve also been celebrating my one-year wedding anniversary this week. What a year it’s been!
Global Citizen Festival: Less than 1 month to go
It’s hard to believe the Global Citizen Festival is already less than a month away.
On Tuesday, Global Citizen added to its already exciting lineup, announcing Anitta, D-Nice, and Sofia Carson, along with Bill Nye, Bridget Moynahan, Busy Philipps, Carmelo Anthony, Common, Connie Britton, Danai Gurira, Gayle King, Jordan Fisher, Padma Lakshmi, and Rachel Brosnahan.
Global Citizen also announced some exciting policy speakers who will be joining it, including José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste, Governor Helder Barbalho and State Secretary for Indigenous People Puyr Tembé from the Brazilian State of Pará, and advocates Barbie Izquierdo, Deja Foxx, Ineza Umuhoza Grace, Jerome Foster II, Nkosana Butholenkosi Masuku, Sophia Kianni, Pashtana Durrani, and Wangari Kuria.
GC’s August 22 launch caught the attention of renowned news outlets around the globe, including Billboard, Rolling Stone, Variety, Vanguard of Nigeria, and CNN Brasil.
Make sure you check out the full press release here and get involved by using the toolkit here.
The Sustainability and Climate Podcast
This week, I had the honor of being the first guest on the latest climate change-focused podcast — the Sustainability and Climate Podcast. Toby is one of the most ardent and committed global citizens and surely has to be amongst the highest-ranking action-takers. I think it is fantastic he is now building his own platform. Check out our fun conversation here!
EU: Fully Fund Global Challenges
We need your help to secure new ODA funding in the EU budget!!
Global Citizen has been coordinating advocacy efforts on the EU budget among it’s 20 civil society groups from the development, humanitarian, pandemic preparedness, and climate space. Before the summer break, GC published a position paper reacting to the European Commission proposal and calling for:
Reinforcement of the ODA emerging challenges cushion, with half of all increases earmarked for global challenges
Freeing up an additional over €1.5 billion by covering support to Ukraine from the newly proposed Ukraine Facility rather than the ODA budget;
Additional funding for the humanitarian response in developing countries
Reinforcement of the Flexibility Instrument to respond to unforeseen needs.
Members of the European Parliament are now negotiating their position and must take steps to ensure the EU's major priorities including the conflict in Ukraine aren't competing for much-needed funding.
We need you to join us in urging MEPs to continue supporting Ukraine while also ensuring this support does not come from the global ODA budget. The EU must do both and protect the ODA budget for global climate and development.
Tweet now and call for MEPs to free up over €1.5B of ODA in the EU budget international climate and development, by supporting Ukraine via the new and additional Ukraine facility.
ONE MORE WEEK: The Global Town Hall is BACK!
With the Global Town Hall just one week away, please find below some suggested language for you to share among your networks! Grateful for all efforts to amplify your what is sure to be a successful event!!
For the second year, Global Citizen and the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia host the annual Global Town Hall. This digital summit returns on Saturday, September 2, ahead of the G20 and Global Citizen's September Festival, convening global government leaders, private sector, civil society organizations, and grassroots advocates, calling on urgent action to tackle challenges facing humanity and the planet.
Under the theme of “This Is Our World Too: A North-South-East-West Dialogue of Civil Societies,” the Global Town Hall will bring together high-caliber discussions and debates on the state of the world involving leading minds worldwide. The virtual summit aims to expose global citizens to different perspectives and ideas on addressing global challenges, facilitating a genuine and high-quality East-West and North-South dialogue at the grassroots level.
The Global Town Hall has gathered over 12,000 people from more than 140 countries since its inception. The virtual 15-hour marathon discussions will feature speakers including Amina J. Mohamed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations;; Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations; José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Prize Winner; Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Francine Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer of Cisco; Erika Schenk, General Counsel & EVP at World Wide Technology, as well as the 2023 Global Citizen Prize winners Pashtana Durrani, Deja Foxx, Ineza Grace and Wangari Kuria.
Global Citizen has jointly curated 11 panels directly linked to our policy campaign objectives, from Food security to human rights, from youth participation to the role of the private sector in solving global issues. In line with GC’s model focusing on driving impact and change, every panel will also include QR codes leading to actions and editorials to ensure the over 10,000 expected participants can take direct action on the GC's platform.
Registration for Global Town Hall 2023 is now open at www.gth2023.com. People can register directly or through this GC action: Be Part Of This Global Conversation And Take Action.
Meeting President Masisi in Botswana
While in Botswana this week, I had the honor of meeting President Masisi of Botswana. We discussed opportunities for Global Citizen and Botswana to work together for people and planet, and President Masisi recalled taking the Global Citizen stage in London in 2018 shortly after his election.
We were inspired by his vision for the future and Botswana’s efforts to ensure the proceeds from its natural resources benefit the country as a whole.
Global Citizen joins WHO’s Civil Society Commission
As you know, Global Citizen is a long-time supporter of the World Health Organization, aware as it is of the role access to health services has in eliminating extreme poverty and reaching equity and also in its linkages to climate change. This work came into focus during the covid pandemic but GC remains steadfast in its commitment to Health to All. Besides having signed an MoU with WHO back in June, I am happy to share with all of you that Global Citizen has been selected to join the newly established Civil Society Commission in Geneva.
Just inaugurated yesterday by WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros, the Commission will strengthen dialogue, foster collaboration and provide recommendations to support WHO on its engagement with civil society at global, regional, and national levels and GC is thrilled to join This group of local and global fellow NGOs.
Global Citizen Festival - A Unique Viewing Experience
With just under a month to go until the festival, and this year’s headliners including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Megan Thee Stallion, Stray Kids, and Conan Gray, GC has a limited number of Ultimate VIP tickets available for purchase.
The Ultimate VIP (UVIP) experience includes:
UVIP tent access with a delectable array of food and a wide selection of both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.
Front-row stage viewing for an up-close and personal connection with your favorite artists.
Enjoy the convenience of a private entrance and exclusive restroom facilities.
For those who purchase 20 or more tickets, there's an added bonus of access to limited branded lounge areas.
The tax-deductible proceeds of these passes support GC’s 501(c)3 and our campaigns, which to date have impacted the lives of nearly 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty around the world. If you or your company are interested in purchasing these tickets please do so here.
My Weekend Reading List
Climate change: Thousands of penguins die in Antarctic ice breakup
Who won, who lost and who fizzled in the first Republican debate
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.
Til next week,
Mick
Amazing ✅💯⭕