Mick's Weekly Update: Cisco Youth Leadership Award / 2023 Must Reads / Unleashing Gen Z / Global Governance

My weekly returns for the start of 2023!

Jan 06, 2023

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Once again, happy New Year! After yet another tumultuous year, it’s hard to imagine what 2023 has in store for us, and I’m opting to remain cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.

That said, we have a busy month coming up, and I’m looking forward to diving right back into our important advocacy work. Read on to see what we’ve been up to this week as we all settle back in.

If you’re enjoying these newsletters, I’m still 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, this year. Additionally, if you’re really liking these newsletters please feel free to forward and circulate and encourage others in your network to subscribe.

DEADLINE EXTENDED - Cisco Youth Leadership Award

Do you know a young person who is positively impacting the world? Do you want to help us celebrate the impact that young people are having on our collective efforts to achieve the UN Global Goals?

If the answer is yes, then please consider submitting them for the 2023 Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award, which we launched in collaboration with our partners at Cisco.

The application deadline has been extended, and I am asking for your help in getting the word out about this transformational award available to young impact makers.

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.

12 Must Have Books And Podcasts For Leaders In 2023

As most of you have seen, with some downtown over the holidays,I managed to publish my 12 Must Have Books and Podcasts for Leaders in 2023 in Forbes. If your New Year’s Resolution was to read more (or even if it wasn’t!), this could be a great place to start - hit one book a month and by 2024 you’ll be ready to run the world. I have one more installment left next week on must have books and podcasts specifically on leadership!

Unleashing Gen Z - Time to Change the Narrative

Do you believe the future holds nothing for you?

If you answered yes, then you share this in common with nearly 50 percent of Generation Z who feel disillusioned. Too many young people feel a lack of power. Yet, it is also Gen Z that is the key to changing the world.

In this seminar, we will break down not only the reasons for this disillusionment, but also how it is reinforced by narratives we consume. We will share new research insights on the emancipative values shifts that are taking place below the surface, with Gen Z as frontrunners. To accelerate positive change we need to urgently amplify a new narrative that engages young peoples’ hearts and minds. And, ironically, we need to learn important lessons from how the fossil fuel industry has been able to shape narratives in the past. Together, we can do so much better!

Martijn Lampert, Co-Founder and Research Director at Glocalities and Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Governmental Affairs Officer at Global Citizen, will host this session. They will share the latest insights on Generation Z based on 8 years of Glocalities’ international trend surveys and on Global Citizen setting the example in activating and engaging change makers from all around the world.

Join us on Wednesday 08 February 09.00 EDT | 14.00 BST | 15.00 CEST | 18.30 IST!

Global Governance is Everyone’s Business:

During the last weeks of last year and as part of our wider series of Twitter space conversations centered around civic space issues, we launched a mini series on the Age of Activism, where we touched on the 16 Days of Activism for women and girls, while we also held a conversation with some of the winners of last year’s Youth Activist Summit which took place in Geneva. Just before the holidays, we held our last conversation of the year, which you can listen to here, on the ever present issue of Governance, from the local to the global level and on why we all need to be more aware and engaged than ever in order to make governance more responsive to us, citizens. With examples from Indonesia to global discussions by our partners Namati and our friend Eddie Ndopu, this is certainly an episode you don't want to miss!

New GC explainer: Artificial intelligence and its Impact on your Human Rights and Civic Space:

Smartphones and the many technologies that keep making them smarter have had a tremendous impact on the way we communicate, organize — and mobilize. However, technologies such as facial recognition and geolocation, which allow you to operate your cell phone and some of its applications, are also used outside of your mobile devices and can be used by systems like traffic and security cameras, by public and private entities looking for data. This explainer, which is part of our original content production, dives into how artificial intelligence can be used to curtail human rights and civic space, with clear examples from locations such as Hong Kong and North America. Please help us share and amplify this piece, so that more global citizens are aware and can take action both on our platforms as well as in their communities, in an informed way.

Global Citizen is Hiring - Come Work With Us!

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 us! We’re hiring for two key positions - Senior Director of Global Philanthropy and Deputy Chief of Staff - Office of the CEO.

If either of these are up your street, 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

Finally, 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.

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 this year.

All best,

Mick