Last Call for Campaign Partnerships / Open Letter / Civil Society Roundtable

Thank you also for the birthday wishes!! In this week's edition, I list some great appeals being run by family members if people would like to donate in lieu of a gift!

Dear Friends and Supporters, 

It was quite the week - full of virtual advocacy events and campaigning G7 leaders prior to the summit this coming week. I will also be speaking on multiple panels at the Digital Enterprise Show (DES2024) this week on ai, misinformation and how it relates to campaigning this week - if you are in the area and are interested in innovation in technology & ESG, please RSVP if you would like to follow online!

Finally, I appreciate all the birthday wishes I've been receiving ahead of my birthday this June 10th—thank you! For those who have kindly said you would like to get me a gift, I have a few suggestions:

1. If you've enjoyed my book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or Audible.

2. More importantly, please consider donating to one of these great appeals being run by:

   • My 17-year-old cousin Hannah, who is currently volunteering in Tanzania.

   • My sister Kelly, who will run a 42km race to raise awareness for the Christmas Island Pipistrelle, a bat species that disappeared from the island 15 years ago.

   • These organizations working to provide humanitarian assistance in 8 conflicts around the world.

Your support means a lot to me and makes a real difference. Thank you!

Last Call to Sign Up to Partner On Global Citizen’s Campaigning!

Global Citizen is calling on fellow non-governmental organizations, think tanks, civic sector, grassroot activists, and citizens around the world to raise their voice and take action with us. 

GC will be happy to include any partners who sign on to be included in the Global Citizen Festival press release and featured on our website (due to be released mid- to late-June). 

Join today by clicking on this link to unite our voices and actions! 

As a reminder, partners will receive the following benefits:

• Have their Logos of all NGO signatories featured on the Global Citizen policy partners landing page;

• Have Logos of all NGO signatories featured at  key events like the Global Citizen Festival in New York, the Economic Summit in Abidjan, and Move Afrika;

• Be promoted via Global Citizen's email list and social media channels;

• Receive 5 tickets for organization representatives to attend Global Citizen’s NYC Festival in September and 1 ticket for the Economic Summit in Abidjan in October and 2 tickets for each Move Afrika event;

• Receive an invitation  for inclusion in “Thank you partner video” for Global Citizen Festival NY pre-show (subject to approval from event production);

• Have use of white-label campaign assets;

• Be Included in the Global Citizen round-up article thanking all NGO partners.

Join today by clicking on this link!

Ending Child Marriage in California - Event Recap!

Last week I was fortunate enough to participate in an X (formerly twitter) event on ending Child Marriage in the state of California! A big thank you to everyone who attended online and a special thank you to our guest speakers and strong advocates: 

• Sara Tasneem, California Child Marriage survivor

• Mandy Havlik, California Child Marriage survivor

• Alex Goyette, Public Policy Manager at Tahirih Justice Center

• Fraidy Reiss, Founder and Executive Director of  Unchained at Last.

This X space discussion (recording HERE) on ending child marriage was moving and pragmatic, as the personal stories of Sara and Mandy illuminated harsh realities of child marriage and its ripple effects. The Speakers highlighted urgency for legislative changes in California and other 37 U.S. states, importance of recommitment, partnership and strong support to ending child marriage. Yes, 38 U.S. states really do still permit child marriage!!

Global Citizen is excited to continue its efforts to educate the public, inspire action and endorse a shift in the California state legislature. 

An Open Letter to G7 Leaders before the G7 Summit

Global Citizen and 18 signatories are calling on G7 leaders to take four decisive steps to combat economic, environmental, and social world crises in an open letter published on June 4th ahead of their meeting in Italy later this month. We are calling on the leaders of these seven countries to take action on four issues:

• Replenish the IDA21 and commit to a 25% increase in contributions.

• Leverage the full potential of Special Drawing Rights in the African Development Bank mechanism.

• Reform the debt architecture in depth by implementing pause clauses.

• Turn the historic COP28 agreement into fruition.

The letter urges these world leaders to take these bold actions at the G7 Summit to ensure a better world for all of us. 

Civil Society Roundtable with The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative and Colombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Susana Muhamad

Last week Global Citizen was invited by our friends at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative to attend a roundtable discussion with Colombian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad.

The roundtable covered the progress that has been made in recruiting countries to endorse a new global framework to phase out coal, oil, and gas. 

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and Global Citizen are both excited to continue their combined efforts to advocate for countries' endorsements. I was also thrilled to recently join the initiative’s steering committee.

How Global Citizen is supporting activists and defenders

Defending and uplifting the work of civic space activists worldwide is essential to the work we do. With this in mind, I wanted to highlight the defenders and activists Global Citizen is currently working with: 

• Indonesian activist  Haris Azhar is an advocate, human rights defender, and lecturer who has been involved in human rights work for over 25 years. In January 2024, Azhar, along with another human rights defender, Fatia Maulidiyanti, were acquitted of defamation charges and he talked to us about how he continues to work for greater freedoms in his country.

• GC is also proud to amplify the work of Vanessa Bracetty-Ormsby, who managed to take her lived poverty-stricken experience, and what could have led to generational trauma, and flip it into a non-profit organization named Expecting Relief, an organization working with communities in Brooklyn, NYC. 

• Finally, meet also Tariq Lawal, an 18-year old writer, poet and activist from Lagos, Nigeria, the first activist covered this year under our Emerging Creatives Program, which  provides a platform for emerging creatives in the Global South that are highlighting the need for open civic space worldwide through art. 

I hope you are inspired by the work these amazing activists and defenders are doing and join GC in continuing to work on specific policy changes to support the participation, protection and recognition of defenders worldwide!

Defending ODA in Germany 

This past week, GC colleagues in Germany gathered in Berlin with 25 NGOs to protest cuts to funding for development and humanitarian aid. The German government cut official development assistance (ODA) by almost 2 billion euros in 2024 and is discussing additional cuts of 1 billion euros for 2025. These are not just numbers; they mean less support for those who need it the most and any further cuts risk the implementation of critical projects that fight hunger, the climate crisis, and extreme poverty. Instead of red penciling the development budget, global citizens will call on the German government to invest at least 0.7% of the country's economic output in ODA to ensure a fairer, more stable, and sustainable world for all. Read more about this protest, take action now by sharing this powerful stunt and join us in calling on German decision-makers to stop these cuts and support global stability and security.

Book Tour Update and Upcoming Events

Keep the feedback coming and grateful for those reviews as they also feed into what I will write about next. Appreciate this feedback from Dane in Australia this week:

As someone who has long advocated for the SDGs, and the UN I have found myself lately trying to defend them even with what appears to be lack of action… So your book built my hope again… Advocacy is not my strength, I am an implementer however understanding systems change its a key role, so I have tipped the toes in more in recent times. You book even encouraged me to reach out to some of the political spectrum who I wouldn’t necessarily agree with their policy approaches, I do think we need to try find middle ground. Its a start! I also think Philanthropy is an area that needs to be strengthened. Although that come back to relationships. Unfortunately when you don't mix in those circles, it can prove challenging. So as I lead a charity its a constant struggle. I think how to tap into them will have to be your next book

As mentioned, I will be speaking at #DES2024, the largest European professional event on exponential technologies, about my new book #FromIdeasToImpact. For three days, DES2024 becomes the great technological event where more than 17,000 professionals will attend. you can follow along virtually here.

I’m excited to be joining the next virtual RELX SDG Inspiration Day on 18 June. This year’s focus is In the Age of AI: Information to Advance the SDGs. You can register and follow along online here. 

On the podcast circuit, I really enjoyed my time chatting to Becky and Jon on the We Are For Good podcast, as well as Randall Kenneth Jones’ On The Knows podcast. Please check them out, rate, share and support! You can find here a recording on youtube of my fireside conversation in Bridgetown, Barbados a few weeks back!

Finally, I was honored to be featured in "Leader to Leader," an award-winning journal providing unique insight into leadership, management, innovation, and change. Check out my article, which offers an executive summary of my recent book.

My Weekend Reading List

• Global Industry Taxes Can Fund Climate Change Adaptation

• What the UK’s White Paper Means for International Development

• How NGOs Are a Part of the Fight Against Global Poverty

• A Giant Red Pencil Has Turned Up to Taunt the German Finance Minister. Here's Why

• G7 Leaders Urged to Set Bolder Energy Transition and Climate Finance Goals

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 regularly. 

Til next week,

Mick