COP28 Climate Talks Kick Off, Move Afrika Comes to Rwanda / New Partnerships

The next two weeks are a pivotal week for the world and you can stay in touch with some of the latest developments through following some of my colleagues on the ground.

Dec 02, 2023

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As the calendar turns to December, many of my colleagues are busy on the ground both in Dubai for COP28 and Kigali for Move Afrika. If you are attending either of these events, please say hello to Global Citizen colleagues that are hard at work on the ground. This week, I am excited to bring you updates as we look to close out the year on a high with new policy breakthroughs.

First off, in case you missed it on Giving Tuesday this week, my latest Forbes.com article highlighted that more than USD $3 billion was likely raised for charitable endeavours in a single day this week. This is a sizable amount and will make a big difference in countless lives. However, it remains a fraction of what's needed to address systemic issues like food insecurity and climate change. This is why we need advocacy, policy entrepreneurship and lobbying efforts for good - exactly the types of efforts that this newsletter outlines. Philanthropy can have a huge multiplier effect through strategically investing in support of these movements, helping to leverage much more in additional public investment by getting governments to deliver on their promises. Check it out here. I also wrote a reflection this week on the passing of Henry Kissinger, which can be found here.

This theme, and much more, is also covered in my upcoming book, From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World. You can support getting out these ideas by pre-ordering a copy already here.

COP28, THE ‘WILD WEST’ OF CLIMATE FINANCE & SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Members of GC’s Global Policy & Advocacy team continue to follow the action and negotiations and will share intel and reactions live! To follow along, receive regular updates on every day of the latest COP negotiations and get in touch, reach out to any of the team members below on X (formerly known as Twitter):

Friederike Roder: @fredroder (Friederike is posting regular threads and updates on both X and her LinkedIn on the latest state of play!)

Nikola Ivezaj: @Nikola_Ivezaj

Valentina Barbagallo: @v_barbagallo

Jordan Devon: @jordanmdevon

Just in time for COP28, our friends at the ONE Campaign shared a social media toolkit highlighting the release of new research on the “Wild West” of climate financing disbursement. This new research reveals that nearly two-thirds of climate finance commitments counted by the OECD, or $343 billion, aren’t recorded as disbursed or have little to do with climate.

GC is also excited to amplify the work of our partners, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) who continue to do critical work to address poverty and hunger around the world. Join IFAD for "Catalyzing Sustainable Food Futures: IFAD's Partnership with Civil Society Actors'', on Sunday, December 3, 2023, 09:30 - 10:30 a.m. at the Food Pavilion. The event will discuss the significance of multi-stakeholder processes that enable diverse community-led actions for a sustainable food future. Rural civil society actors will come together to share their perspectives, discuss innovative approaches, success stories, and lessons learned, as well as to explore opportunities for community empowerment in food system transformation. Livestream will also be available here.

CLIMATE RESILIENT DEBT CLAUSES & THE WORLD BANK @ COP28

Building on their announcement at GC’s Power Our Planet in June during the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, the World Bank is extending a new lifeline to small islands and other small states struck by earthquakes and tropical storms, allowing governments to focus on disaster recovery instead of debt repayment when catastrophes occur. These small islands and states are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. When natural disasters hit, their leaders are concerned about their people and their communities. They’re focused on maintaining access to clean water, food, and power—and they’re tormented by the loss of life. Read more about how the World Bank has widened the scope of Climate Resilient Debt Clauses here. This is great follow through and implementation on a previous commitment.

You can also find the schedule of World Bank events at COP28 here.

GC PRIZE NOMINATIONS ARE STILL OPEN

As I mentioned last week, I am seeking your support as Global Citizen gears up for the sixth iteration of the Global Citizen Prize, which will take place in early May 2024. The Global Citizen Prize celebrates the work of incredible grassroots activists around the world and supports their work on the core issues that Global Citizen is focussed on that year.

Our goal is to find incredible activists that are working to end extreme poverty and change the world. GC wants to celebrate their work; but also, critically, support them across the course of 2024 by making them a key part of our activities. The goal is to use our platforms to lift up our Citizen Prize winners throughout the year. Some examples of previous winners can be found here.

GC is excited to open up the nomination process to Global Citizen friends and colleagues across the sector to help us identify individuals who deserve the recognition for their outstanding work, those that are ideally placed to benefit from Global Citizen’s support.

For more information, and to nominate someone, please visit the nomination form Here. Nominations are open until December 15.

THE LATEST WORK IN SUPPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

As you know, GC always work in support of the cause of particular human rights defenders, and a couple of weeks back I introduced you to the case of imprisoned Mexican defender Kenia Hernandez through the voice of her best friend. You can now add your voice to our call, together with our partner CIVICUS, addressed to Mexican authorities for her release by taking Action with us here.

Moreover, and in order to support the work that the private sector must do in upholding human rights and defenders, we attended the 12th Session of the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights which took place this week in Geneva, and where we shared our work done so far to have leading companies renounce Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPS) which are usually employed to silence defenders. You can check out GC’s positioned twitter (or X now) thread Here.

MANDELA 100 & BeyGOOD: 5 YEARS LATER

Global Citizens took over 5 million actions at the 2018 Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg, securing 60 commitments to combat extreme poverty. Five years later, those pledges are exceeding expectations!

Today, more than $7.4 billion in funding from world leaders to help communities across Africa and the world, impacting the lives of 122 million people.

The festival also marked the launch of the Global Citizen Fellowship Program, powered by BeyGOOD which has so far enrolled 50 young leaders from underserved communities in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya providing them with essential skills and networks to become social impact changemakers. In a report released this week, global citizens are also celebrating the program's success, highlighting the enduring impact of this program, and the inspirational work of each fellow on their journey.

You can also learn more about the ongoing impacts of commitments made at Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100, five years later here, and here. You can also share this great news on social media with assets and copy from this Toolkit.

TAKE ACTION COLLABORATION WITH REEBOK

GC is so thrilled to share our first-ever TAKE ACTION product collaboration with Reebok! The exclusive footwear and apparel collection officially launched on November 14 and encourages consumers to activate their purchasing power to help drive equity.

Each TAKE ACTION product features a custom QR code that drives consumers to the Global Citizen platform which offers a direct path to take action, such as signing a petition in support of Education Cannot Wait (ECW) to call on world leaders to help ensure everyone – including our most marginalized populations – has access to education.

Check out this landing page to Take Action, shop the collection, win rewards and more!

VERIZON’S WORK WITH SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities, and our partner Verizon is committed to empowering a new generation of small business owners to reach their full potential in today’s digital world.

To raise awareness around this critical work, we launched an editorial campaign on November 16 profiling Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, an initiative providing entrepreneurs with critical resources to dream big.

Did you know 78% of all new jobs are created by family-owned businesses? Take action by completing our quiz to learn more facts about the role of small business and read about Verizon’s efforts in our latest article.

CISCO YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD - APPLICATIONS OPEN

Global Citizen and Cisco have just opened the application process for the 2024 Cisco Youth Leadership Awards to recognize and lift up a young person positively impacting the world and working to end extreme poverty. I’m reaching out to ask for your help to get the word out about this transformational award available to young leaders!

The award includes a US $250,000 prize paid to the organization to which the individual contributes. Applications are being accepted now through December 15th, 2023 at 20:00 pm EDT. More information can be found here.

If you have an inspiring changemaker in mind, please share with them the application here.

ACCENTURE’S SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATION CHALLENGE

This week, GC’s corporate partnerships team launched the sixth 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 sixth episode features Nick Ho, a Sustainability Consultant at Accenture, and his team's winning solution to partner with The International Small Group & Tree Planting Program (TIST) to scale their tree planting program to expand to more communities worldwide. This solution shows the power and importance of collaboration to equip communities with the resources needed to solve today's challenges.

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

MY WEEKEND READING LIST

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