Closing out 2022 / A Year in Review
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Today I’m bringing you the final newsletter of the year! With most of our team off next week, and our offices closing for the holidays, this week’s newsletter will be the last one until we pick things back up in January.
In lieu of a whole host of updates this week, I thought I’d bring you all a recap of the busy year we’ve had, looking back at all our key moments and the amazing work we’ve done together.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading these newsletters over the last year - I know I’ve enjoyed writing them! That said, I’m always looking for ways to improve, and welcome suggestions for how to make these even stronger. To that end, I hope you’ll take a moment to fill out this survey and let me know what you want more, less, or the same of, in the new year.
GC’s Best of 2022
This year has been an exciting one for us at Global Citizen, and it truly feels like we haven’t slowed down at all!
We started the year with a plan to launch our latest campaign, End Extreme Poverty NOW, calling on governments, leaders in the private sector, and billionaires to make the commitments urgently required to end extreme poverty now, and rallying millions of Global Citizens around the world to demand that the world’s top political and business leaders take immediate action in three critical areas on which the world can no longer afford to wait: empowering adolescent girls across the world; breaking the systemic barriers that keep people trapped in poverty; and taking meaningful climate action now.
Our launch plans were somewhat thwarted, however, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant we had to derail our year’s campaign launch, and respond to the invasion how we do things best - quickly and swiftly. Thus we launched Stand Up for Ukraine, featuring a Social Media Rally on April 8 and a pledging event in Warsaw on April 9, hosted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The rally engaged citizens around the world to call on world leaders to step up funding for refugees everywhere.
Together, we helped secure $10.1 billion in pledged new grants and loans to support those who have had to flee their homes in Ukraine. That $4.6 billion in grants and $5.5 billion in loans will support refugee efforts in Ukraine and other European countries in providing accommodation and economic security, as well as support for grassroots organizations and UN agencies working with refugees and internally displaced people. Check out the full impact report of the event here, or stream the summit on YouTube here.
Then, in May, we held our first ever thought leadership Summit, Global Citizen NOW, which brought together over 300 leaders across the private sector, advocacy, entertainment, government and philanthropy to drive action and demonstrate impact to end extreme poverty and protect the planet NOW. The summit featured globally-renowned leaders from both the private and public sectors including Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Chuck Robbins, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Cisco; Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; Erna Solberg, former Prime Minister of Norway, and more! If you missed it, stay tuned for more 2023 Summit details in the new year, or stream this year’s on YouTube here.
We didn’t have much time to rest before preparations for the 10th Anniversary Festival kicked off, with this year bringing with it a new location alongside the Great Lawn - Black Star Square in Accra. It was my first time not in New York for the festival, and while I was a little sad to miss out, I was glad to be able to bring our magic to a new location, and felt truly inspired by the energy of the crowd (plus I had my first stage moment!)!
The 2022 Global Citizen Festival saw more than US$800 million announced to end extreme poverty NOW and US$1.6 billion announced by the European Commission and Canada as part of the seventh replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria on Sept. 21, in addition to the announcement of five companies signing on to the UN-led Race to Zero initiative to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. You can check out the full impact report here, or stream the highlights here. If you weren’t able to make it this year, keep your eyes peeled for where the 2023 festival takes us!
I wish I could say things slowed down for us after the festival, but the truth is we’re always moving and grooving at GC, and outside our own events, we also participated (albeit mostly virtually) at a whole host of multilateral global events, from the G7 in June, to the G20 and COP27 last month.
I’m immensely proud of all the work we’ve carried out this year, and know that in true GC fashion, we’ll somehow find a way to top ourselves next year! So stay tuned for more of what we have in store - I promise it won’t disappoint you.
Feeding Future Generations: Tracking Trends in ODA for Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change
The ongoing climate crisis is already having a massive impact on the agricultural sector. Agricultural systems across the globe are constrained by climate impacts, and smallholder farmers in low- and lower-middle-income countries, who produce 1/3 of the global food supply, are among the hardest hit. Increased support toward agricultural adaptation is needed to maintain sustainable food systems, as these smallholder farmers often lack the resources and knowledge to cope with climate change's ramifications.
Global Citizen's Food Security and Agriculture lead, Mwandwe Chileshe in partnership with Angela Reithuber from the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, collaborated with the Donor Tracker on a new insights piece. The insights build off a companion qualitative analysis to understand current trends in ODA to agricultural adaptation, highlighting top-funded sub-sectors and regions of focus and major funding gaps to this essential sector. Read more here on the present landscape of agricultural adaptation and where ODA should be funneled in the future to help boost climate-resilient agriculture.
EU CBAM Negotiations
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, EU negotiators reached a provisional political agreement on CBAM - the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Despite our best efforts, EU institutions failed to agree to earmark revenues from this levy for international climate finance - the money will just flow into the EU budget for now and then the annual/7 year process will as usual decide how to distribute resources. For the full GC reaction, check out and share our Twitter thread here.
Welcoming Conrod Hunte to the GC Office
Yesterday, those of us in the New York office (and those tuning in virtually) had the distinct pleasure to have Ambassador Conrod Hunte, Chief Negotiator for Small Island States, for an exciting discussion on the creation of a loss and damage fund - one of the few concrete outcomes to come out of the most recent climate talks last month in Sharm el Sheikh. Ambassador Hunte broke down the core of what “loss and damage” really means, why it matters to so many developing nations and small island states, where the money will come from and, finally, who will be eligible to receive it. As we look ahead to 2023, we look forward to working on loss and damage and seeing how best Global Citizen can support this critical effort.
Cisco Youth Leadership Award - Applications still open
Alongside our partners at Cisco, we have launched the application process for the 2023 Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award. To that end, I am asking for your help in getting the word out about this transformational award available to young impact makers.
The Cisco Youth Leadership Award was established by Cisco and Global Citizen to both recognize a young person who is positively impacting the world and celebrate the impact that young people are having on our collective efforts to achieve the UN Global Goals.
This award honors a young leader, between the ages of 18 and 30, who has contributed meaningfully toward the goal of ending extreme poverty. The award includes a $250,000 prize paid to the organization to which the individual contributes.
Applications are being accepted now through January 20, 2023, at 5pm PST. Applications can be submitted here.
Would you help ensure that this opportunity reaches inspiring young leaders in your network who should be considered for this extraordinary opportunity?
Here are some ways to get involved:
Like, comment on, and share this LinkedIn post so that your professional network sees this incredible opportunity.
Post on your own social media accounts – suggested social posts are available here.
Forward this message and this one-pager to people in your network who should apply, or who may know people who should apply.
The Archewell Foundation & VING Project Team up to Grant $1 Million to Women in Need
Do you know a woman who could use $1,000? Global Citizen friends Meghan and Harry and their organization, Archewell Foundation, have teamed up with national giving movement VING Project to give away $1,000,000 in $1,000 grants to women in need – and they’re asking young people between ages 14-18 to nominate a woman in their life who might be in need of a boost! Let’s spread the joy of giving together – click here to learn more and nominate someone today.
My Weekend Reading List
Paris is dead. Busan is dead. What the hell happened to aid effectiveness? I’ve got an idea.
Morocco Gave Everything. It Needed a Little More Against France. (Was really rooting for them here!)
If Harry and Meghan were hoping to change the royal family, they’ll be disappointed
33 hours on the frontline of the NHS (recommend giving this one a listen)
‘Such a joyous moment’: the White Lotus theme becomes a dancefloor hit at clubs and festivals
Finally, you can consider supporting the work of Global Citizen with a tax-deductible donation here.
That’s all from me this week and year! I’d like to once again ask you all to take a moment to fill out this survey so I can best tailor these newsletters to what you all want to see from me in 2023.
Until then, thank you all for your readership and for your support of our work. Looking forward to another year together of exciting updates!
Happy holidays from all of us at GC!
See you in 2023,
Mick