Personal Milestone / Move Afrika: Rwanda / The Middle East / Upcoming Climate Talks
My latest update as I submit my book manuscript, GC expands to Rwanda, more terrible news from the Middle East (and a cry for peace!), and the world prepares for the latest round of climate talks
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been a minute. Since my last update, I have finished the draft manuscript of my book, “From Idea to Impact,” available for pre-order here. I’m also just two weeks (or less!) away from becoming a dad. This was the moment this past weekend when in the early hours of the morning I hit send. Grateful for everyone’s ongoing support and encouragement!
Please find below a round-up of across the last month.
The ‘Move Afrika’ Campaign
Global Citizen and pgLang announced ‘Move Afrika,’ a long-term vision to pioneer a world class music touring circuit across the African continent. The first event ‘Move Afrika: Rwanda’ will be held on December 6, 2023 in Kigali, headlined by Kendrick Lamar.
This campaign aims to impact three critical areas for ending extreme poverty across the region, including defending our planet and its inhabitants, and creating jobs and economic opportunity. One of the campaign’s biggest priorities is promoting health and gender equity, including sexual and reproductive health and rights for women. To that end, we are calling for:
African governments to increase domestic financing for health, specifically focusing on community health interventions like well-designed community health worker programs that can deliver a range of essential primary health services, including sexual and reproductive health.
Donor governments and global partners to back government priorities for community health with financial and technical resources.
Expanding investment in women’s economic empowerment programs, to include access to productive resources and cash, digital technology, and strengthening of the social care and childcare sectors
Empowering women as political and social actors to change policy and make institutions more representative of a range of voices
Move Afrika is Global Citizen’s latest effort to address the world’s inequities by creating job and entrepreneurship opportunities for the continent’s emerging generations through an annual series of world-class live events. Showcasing the best of Africa to the world, these events will drive transformative investments within local communities, engage local artists, vendors, agencies and crews, and provide opportunities for on-the-job skill development and training. Producing a world-class experience for fans and artists alike, Move Afrika will set a new gold-standard for entertainment touring events, increasing demand from international and regional artists to tour in the region and building local capacity within host cities across the continent.
In partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, Kigali, Rwanda will host Move Afrika every year for the next five years. Each year, additional countries will be added to the tour schedule, which aims to expand to five countries by 2025.
For more information, check out the full press release here, or here for information on how to get tickets.
Middle East In Crisis
Since the attacks by Hamas in Israel’s Southern Districts on Saturday, October 7, there has been a feeling and reality of an escalating, if not spiraling, conflict and crisis in the Middle East. With an overflow of news, images, and social media, it is hard to understand everything. Fundamentally, the situation is deeply personal for many. And there are far-reaching political implications. Our friend, Taufiq Rahim from Globesight, has written this primer to help distill the information, insights & implications that you need to know to help you navigate this crisis and conflict in the Middle East. I thoroughly recommend it. I also recommend tuning into The Rest is Politics podcast that has some good recent discussions worth listening to.
Hamas’s attacks resulted in more than 1,4000 people being killed on October 7th in southern Israel and the taking of hundreds of hostages, many of whom remain captured. Since the war begun, the death toll has now passed a shocking 11,000 in Gaza, and more than half of those killed have been women and children. In addition, more than 100 UN staff members have been killed and counting, and more than one million Palestinians have had to leave their homes.
As many of you know, I serve on the board of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. Yesterday, Ban Ki-moon and his fellow Elders including former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, published an open letter around the need for “a serious peace plan,” not as “a distraction from resolving the current crisis [but as] a prerequisite.” This followed the UN Security Council passing a resolution this week. The Elders called on leaders to build on this in addressing anti-Semitisim and Islamophobia, and called for two things: setting out a serious peace plan, and helping build a new coalition for peace to deliver it… This plan… must recognise the equal rights of Palestinians and Israelis, and be rooted in international law, including the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” I will have more on this last point as we gear up to recognize the 75th anniversary of this important declaration next month.
History has shown us that conflict and poverty are closely interconnected, weakening the rule of law, a collapse in economic development, and often catastrophic humanitarian situations, especially for children and women. As a reminder, Global Citizen has published a list of organizations with a presence on the ground, who will need as much help as they can get. Additionally, we are strong supporters of Education Cannot Wait who is contributing to safeguarding the basic right to education for children and youth in Gaza, even during times of active conflict. Their First Emergency Response (FER) will focus on ensuring access to safe and secure learning environments, and providing education interventions to promote the safety and well-being of learners, teachers and other education personnel. This includes mental health and psychosocial support, and ensuring linkages to protection services, such as access to health, nutrition and food.
My Latest Articles for Forbes
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My latest article dealt with the need to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to carbon credits. Policy implementation isn't a linear path; it's often a messy process requiring constant refinement. This is especially evident in the complex world of carbon credits, a key focus at the upcoming COP28 next month. In addressing its critics, new 'integrity standards' aim to enhance existing carbon markets, directing transformative climate finance directly to communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Through these “integrity” standards, there is a shift towards a solution that works first and foremost for the forest communities on the frontlines of conservation for climate action. If implemented correctly, these road rules can help unlock billions of dollars for these communities while simultaneously addressing the triple threats of climate change, biodiversity loss, and humanitarian crises. As the world’s now massive climate community gets ready to gather in the Emirates for COP28, they owe it to these communities to give these new rules a chance.
You can read more about this in my latest Forbes piece here.
Webinar Invitation: “From billions to trillions: the climate finance we need” on November 27, 15:00-16:00 CET
Please sign up by clicking on this link.
Ahead of COP28, Global Citizen, Beyond Bretton Woods and the Sustainable Finance Lab are organising a webinar to discuss how to deliver an ambitious climate finance agenda and in particular:
The global climate finance gap and why the current agenda is not set to solve it
The need to bridge the gap globally and why this is in our common interest
The potential role of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights
Speakers:
Sara Murawski, Researcher, Sustainable Finance Lab
Adrian Chikowore, Independent Researcher
Vera Songwe, Brookings Institute and lead author of the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance
Hassatou N'Sele, CFO, African Development Bank
Jesper Hanson, Deputy Head International Economy and Financial Institutions, Ministry of Finance, The Netherlands
William Roos, Assistant Secretary Department for Multilateral, Development and Trade affairs, French Treasury
Moderator:
Friederike Röder, Vice-President Global Advocacy, Global Citizen
The Paris Peace Forum - Recap
The Paris Peace Forum took place in Paris last week, on Nov 10-11, with several leaders attending like Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
One of the main objectives was to assess progress since the Paris Summit for a new global financing which took place in June, when 40 leaders came together in Paris to discuss the reform of the global financial system and to ensure no country has to choose between fighting extreme poverty and fighting climate change.
6 months later, where do we stand? You can read this interview with my colleague Friederike Röder, Vice President of Global Citizen and for French readers, Focus 2030 published a progress report Global Citizen also contributed to.
One very positive progress was announced at the Paris Peace Forum: the task force on international taxation, to raise more funds for climate and development, is taking shape and will be launched by Kenya and France, supported by Laurence Tubiana, Director of the European Climate Foundation, at COP28. This task force should deliver a coalition of countries implementing one or several tax options (FFT, fossil fuel taxes, wealth tax…) hopefully by COP30, before aiming to make these taxes truly global.
There are still many reforms that need to be accelerated. In particular, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados reminded the necessity of so-called debt pause clauses being free of charge and applying to existing debt. To keep the promise of the Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement, it is vital to redouble efforts and respond to the hopes of the most vulnerable countries, particularly at future international events, such as COP28 in Dubai and Brazil's presidency of the G20 in 2024.
New OECD figures on 2021 international climate finance
On 16 November, the OECD published its new data on the 2021 climate finance level and confirmed that the $100 billion promise has yet again remained unmet - falling just over $10 billion short.
Importantly, they indicated that given the total for 2021 is higher than their earlier projections, the goal looks likely to have been met as of 2022 - and not 2023 as leaders have been saying throughout the year. However, the OECD cannot confirm the data supplied by governments as it has yet to be verified. So how can governments claim to have met the target without releasing timely data? US officials have publicly said that their international climate finance in 2022 "was nearly $6 billion, of which $2.25 billion was grant-based”. If the data is available, why is this is not made public?
In addition, while the overall outlook for 2021 shows a positive path, once unpacked, the data shows that climate finance for “Least Developed Countries” actually declined as did adaptation finance, precisely the two flows most important for the poorest countries which need the most urgent help.
Despite the importance of wealthy countries following through on their historic commitments, we also need to unlock additional sources of finance. Today’s needs are significantly more important than they were in 2009 when countries agreed on the $100 billion goal. Taxes, for instance on the profits of fossil fuel companies, would be the best solution to raise additional financing. As a reminder, the 5 biggest oil majors made nearly $200 billion in profits in 2022, twice the financing promise made to poor and vulnerable countries.
See Global Citizen’s reaction here.
The international aid system - a collapsing house of cards without sufficient funding
Around 339 million people are in need of life-saving humanitarian aid this year, 65 million more than in 2022. Although needs have risen to a record high, the German government was planning to drastically cut funding for humanitarian aid and international development cooperation.
Therefore, Global Citizen joined Save the Children, the Association for Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid (VENRO) and other organizations and actors of the campaign #LuftNachOben to speak out against these cuts. On 14 November, two days before the final budget adjustment session of the German Parliament, GC built a six-meter-high collapsing house of cards in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin - symbolic for the fact that the international aid system will collapse without sufficient funding.
The urgent calls from the participating 28 organizations were heard - two days later the Budget Committee increased funding for humanitarian aid by 700 million euros compared to initial plans of 1.7 billion EUR. Other increases included an additional 0,5 billion EUR for climate and biodiversity abroad bringing the total budget to 1.5 billion EUR for the next ten years and more funding for global health organizations. However, uncertainties persist since this week the Constitutional Court ruled the Coalition's budget practice in 2021 unconstitutional, resulting in a 60 billion EUR hole in Germany’s finance climate plans and prompting the hearing of experts on Tuesday, Nov 21. Details on the extent of the government's total expenditure for the upcoming year will only be available after this session. The Bundestag is set to definitively approve the budget proposal during the session week from November 27 to December 1..
The latest work in support of Human Rights Defenders
Over the last couple of weeks, Global Citizen’s work in support of the cause of particular human rights defenders has continued as strong as always. From shedding light on the case of imprisoned Mexican defender Kenia Hernandez through the voice of her best friend, to supporting the case of Guatemalan human rights lawyers Virginia Parra and Claudia Gonzalez with a petition to ask for their release. GC has also continued its support to CIVICUS’ campaign Stand As My Witness, about which you can learn more with this recently held X space conversation (you can still listen to it, podcast style), and if that is not enough for you, GC have also celebrated the decision of 5 companies (The Body Shop, LUSH cosmetics, Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia and Seventh Generation) to take its Anti-SLAPPS pledge in favor of freedom of expression and action of activists (also very proud to announce Yelp has also just joined!). And to top it off, if you are curious as to how civic space and human rights were featured in GC’s recent September festival and what our philosophy behind it is, check out this Op-Ed by GC’s Geneva representative Ruben Escalante.
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.
GC Prize Nominations Now Open
I am also 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; the Citizen Prize is designed to recognize individuals that are championing the resilience and unity that exemplifies what it means to be a Global Citizen.
GC’s goal is to find incredible activists that are working to end extreme poverty and change the world. This award seeks to celebrate their work; but also, critically, support them across the course of 2024 by making them a key part of our activities. Whether it's featuring them in our content and story-telling, or championing their issues at Global Citizen events around the world. The award’s goal is to use GC’s platforms to lift up Global 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 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.
Citizen Advocacy is a Win for the Greenbelt and the Planet
Trust and solidarity are integral to a functioning democracy. Yet today, amid a proliferation of misinformation on the internet, broken political promises, corporate interests at odds with the public good, and policy that seems to be moving in the wrong direction, trust and solidarity are at a dangerous low. As convergence of conflict, crisis and challenges aim to push communities apart, solidarity is more important than ever.
Just look at what is accomplished when we stand together.
When Premier Doug Ford announced the controversial decision to allow development on Ontario’s protected Greenbelt, advocates for the environment showed up in force. From organizations like Environmental Defence to everyday citizens, people stepped up to make their concerns heard. Letters, petitions, phone calls, op-eds, posts on social media and conversations among community members ultimately contributed to essential change. Now, nearly a year later, Ford has reversed his decision. A big win for the preservation of this ecologically sensitive environment and a prime example of the power of solidarity.
On the surface, a simple signature, social media post, or a conversation with a friend may seem insufficient as a driver for real and lasting change. For one voice alone, that might be true. But within the unity of collective voices, there is great potential. In the case of Ontario’s Greenbelt, collective voices encouraged important conversations, put pressure on elected representatives, sparked inquiry, and helped to achieve a common goal.
You can read my full article here.
In solidarity,
Mick