Launch Week / Events / French Foreign Aid Cuts / Podcasts Galore
April 16 marks the official release of my book! I am looking forward to everyones feedback and reviews over coming weeks.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
I hope this message finds you well. Given the turbulent events that have unfolded in the Middle East over the weekend, many of you have reached out for insights on the geopolitical implications. To better understand the current situation, I highly recommend the new book by my friend Taufiq Rahim, Middle East in Crisis and Conflict: A Primer. It offers comprehensive insights into the complexities of the region.
On the personal front, this upcoming week is an exciting one for me as we officially launch From Ideas to Impact this Tuesday, April 16, with some promotional help from a familiar friend! I am looking forward to everyones feedback. If you already have your copy I would be grateful if you might take the time to post a review on Amazon or other selected site! With book launch week upon us, I have a number of upcoming events. You can catch me in the following cities:
April 15th - Seattle Town Hall, 7:30pm, Register here
April 18th - New York, 6-7:30pm Register here
April 23rd, from 6:30pm - DC, hosted at the Atlantic Council. Email me at michael@michaelsheldrick.com for details! We’ll be posting the link later!
I'm truly enjoying the story tidbits and reflections that people are sharing with me in response to my book. It's fascinating to see what resonates with readers, whether it's their favorite of the 8 principles or their guesses about the "unnamed" antagonist.
One recent reflection came from an author who shared a story about a meeting with Senator George Mitchell, the facilitator of the Good Friday Accords negotiation:
"When asked why he was successful after many previous failures, Mitchell responded, 'The political environment was entirely different then.' When pressed on how, he simply said, 'Because it was the first time there were so many women in the political space.'"
Such insights are incredibly timely and resonate with the times we're living in.
Share your reflections and insights with me at michael@michaelsheldrick.com to access a bonus chapter. And if you've read the book, please consider posting your review on Amazon and other platforms.
If you haven't grabbed your copy yet, order today at: https://gtly.to/dE-U6r-gC
Order Your Copy Today!
I am extremely honored that in the final days before launch a new book discovery app, Tertulia, have selected 'From Ideas to Impact' as an April staff pick!!
They are very generously offering a 50% discount to those who sign up for a free 30-day trial of Tertulia membership.
You can exercise this special offer here: https://lnkd.in/edHc3wej
Get Your Podcasts!
I’ve done a series of podcasts in recent weeks about the book available here:
Catch the last one here with Arizona based construction podcast Mac & Bleu here.
Now onto the updates from the Global Policy and Advocacy Team!
Meet Global Citizen’s prize winners!
Global Citizen announced the winners of its annual Global Citizen Prize and Cisco Youth Leadership Award, honoring young changemakers dedicated to tackling poverty and promoting equity. The awards ceremony will be held during GC Now New York on May 1st, and will feature notable figures such as Prime Minister Philip Davis and Grammy-nominated artist Rauw Alejandro.
Recipients of the Global Citizen Prize include activists from Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ireland, and Fiji, recognized for their work in areas like health, gender equity, and climate change. The Cisco Youth Leadership Award recipient, Ricardo Enrique Alba Torres from Colombia, is lauded for his environmental sustainability efforts in providing clean water access. You can read more about all of winners here.
See you in Washington on 19 April
One final plug for GC’s upcoming reception - if you’re in Washington during the World Bank Spring Meetings, stop by OSF’s Washington offices for a cocktail or beverage of your choice! I’ll there discussing how to champion the opportunities for increased and higher-quality development and climate financing for LMICs in 2024 (and beyond!). More information on speakers to come - in the meantime, please RSVP here!
Our campaigning on French cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA)
As noted in this newsletter format before, the French government decided to cut aid by 13% back in February - the biggest aid cut in a decade. Global Citizen partnered with our friends at Oxfam and the ONE campaign to launch a campaign titled, “Chacun sa m****”. GC’s efforts will include an ad in the April 11 edition of Le Monde and in the online version of the Wall Street Journal. The campaign aims to draw attention to these disproportionate cuts, but also to the solution: strengthening the French Financial Transactions Tax. GC emailed all MPs to point to this solution and are also in discussions with the government. But as we fear more cuts, we also have to add public action.
I also wrote about President Macron’s backtracking in a recent Forbes article here.
You can support the campaign on social media and using these resources:
French explainer video
IG post in both languages
Updates to GC’s ongoing campaign to End Child Marriage
Child marriage exists in 38 US states and together with GC’s friends at Unchained at Last, we continue our campaign in California - one of the states where it is still legal to wed children.
On April 23, the Judiciary Committee will vote on a new bill that would fully ban the harmful practice - protecting thousands of kids. Please join us in calling on Judiciary Committee members to support #AB2924 and end child marriage once and for all.
My Weekend Reading List
‘Two years to save the world’: UN climate chief calls for faster action and more finance
Adaptation Is the World’s Unheralded Tool to Deal With Climate Change
Aid under pressure: 3 accelerating shifts in official development assistance
Rich nations reverse aid cuts to poorest — but debt distress still looms
Fareed Zakaria speaking on his new book ‘Age of Revolutions’
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