Upcoming Events and the Countdown is On!
The first copies of the book have started to arrive, plus a whole host of other upcoming events and updates.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We’re just over a week away from the official launch of my book, From Ideas to Impact! The excitement is building - I received a copies at my home this week, and I have a few events centered around the book taking place this month. Thanks to everyone that has pre-ordered, or already RSVP’ed to the events below. And of course, a huge thank you to the organizations hosting these upcoming events! Can’t wait to see you as we continue to take Ideas to Impact on the road.
April 9th, 6pm - New York, register here for details (In Fireside Conversation with Triple Helix Institute, a non-profit dedicated to building awareness of AgTech in climate action)
April 15th - Seattle, Register here (Harnessing Pop Culture for Social Justice, Conversation with Paulin Basinga, Africa Director of Gates Foundation)
April 18th, 6-7:30pm - New York, Register here (Hosted by Professor Glenn Denning at Columbia SIPA and featuring Gbenga Akinnagbe, Actor and Advocate, Janet Tobais, Emmy Award Winning Filmmaker, Ambassador François Jackman, Permanent Representative of Barbados to the UN, and Dr. Felipe Paullier, first UN Assistant Secretary General for Youth Affairs)
April 24th - DC (mark your calendars!)
A reminder that anyone who preorders this month and emails me a copy of their receipt will get a special bonus chapter!
It’s also a busy time for Global Citizen updates, as you saw earlier this week with the announcement of the return of Global Citizen Festival. Here are some more updates from our team:
See you in Washington on 19 April !
If you’re in Washington during the World Bank Spring Meetings - stop by for a cocktail or beverage of your choice! We’ll be 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!
Join this Webinar on Food Security on 10 April …
Hungry for Action, in partnership with OXFAM Africa, will host a special webinar titled "Breaking the Cycle of Food Crises: Exploring the Financing Landscape." Right now 735 million people are hungry, chronic hunger is affecting a fifth of Africa's population, worsened. The climate crisis and a debt crisis are worsening the situation. As the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings are near, an expert panel will discuss how we can unlock the financing needed to tackle the global food crisis and drive progress towards SDG2 and climate goals.
Global Citizen’s very own Friederike Roder, Vice President, Global Policy and Advocacy, Global Citizen will be speaking at the event.
10 April : 09-10 AM EST / RSVP here:https://bit.ly/3PNnqsb
…or this one on Special Drawing Rights on 9 April !
Our partner, the Finance for Development Lab (FinDevLab) together with FERDI and the French Central Bank is hosting a webinar on April 9 (13:30-15:00h CET) to discuss the impact of the Resilience and Sustainability Fund on African countries. The roundtable will include representatives from Mauritius, Côte d’Ivoire, the African Development Bank and again our VP Friederike. Please noe that the discussion will be en français!
Ban Ki-moon Centre’s “Your Future in Green Jobs” Program - Applications due 8 April
The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens (BKMC), supported by Dubai Cares, and in collaboration with Plan International and Unbounded Associates, is delighted to present the Your Future in Green Jobs Online Course & Mentorship Program!
The BKMC designed this online course to empower 10.000 young people between 14-20 years old to connect their passion, interests, and skills with a meaningful green career. The self-paced course consists of 6 modules and is full of interactive assignments, videos, and plenty of new information and reflection spaces for learners to explore climate change and their role in tackling it. You can access the course here.
In addition, the BKMC launched the Mentorship program to build on the knowledge youth gain from completing the Your Future in Green Jobs Online Course. The goal is to support and mentor around 20 young changemakers from all around the world between mid-May and mid-November 2024 to implement their own SDG Micro-Projects locally.
To reach as many young passionate individuals as possible, we ask for your support in promoting the Online Course and Mentorship within your networks. The Online Course can be completed after the application deadline! However, a completion certificate will boost the chances of being selected. Application deadline for the mentorship: April 8, 2024, at 4 PM CET.
Kindly see here a social media kit (specifically, sections 2-3 titled 'Mentorship') to help us spread the word.
Verizon Celebrates Women’s History Month
Last week, our action and editorial campaign for Verizon went live! Global Citizen and Verizon called on audiences to reflect on influential women in celebration of Women’s History Month in March.
The editorial features women that Verizon leaders find inspiring and iconic, celebrating the many deserving women whose influence has uplifted others personally and professionally. Verizon also launched an email signature plugin for Women’s History Month. It creates an email signature to highlight some of history’s most accomplished women in science, tech, and social justice–celebrating their voices to remind women of their own power.
Find out more about the remarkable women highlighted in the article on the Global Citizen Website, and check out how you can download the email signature plugin to celebrate women whose voices and achievements changed the course of history here.
Get to know IPRI, helping indigenous peoples fight for justice
Global Citizen is proud to team up with Indigenous Peoples Rights International, who is fighting to support indigenous communities. Learn more about the challenges they face and how you can get involved to support their work.
Sandra Creamer, an indigenous activist and human rights lawyer from Australia, represented IPRI at our recently held Global Citizen Now Melbourne and delivered a strong Call to Action to increase protection of environmental and land defenders, many of whom are indigenous.
Applications open for our Emerging Creatives Program!
I am thrilled to let you know that Global Citizen is starting its call for applications for our Emerging Creatives Programme, as part of our work to support and elevate creative voices who are using the arts in support of civic space freedoms.
Please find our toolkit here and please help us share on X and instagram. The Emerging Creatives Program is a platform for up and coming creatives in the Global South who are using their art to call for change, shine a light on social injustices, and advocate for the advancement of the Global Goals, while highlighting the need for open civic space worldwide. And when we say creative, we mean it. The creative could be a graffiti artist, a documentary filmmaker, an author, a musician, even a facepainter! As long as the creative is doing so to bring attention to the Global South’s most pressing issues, with a strong and evident civic space angle. Potential artists interested can apply directly here.
The program runs for seven months, and we’re looking to shout out one creative each month. We’d love your support in spreading the word and helping us elevate these courageous artists!
My Weekend Reading List
Africa’s Youngest President Takes Office, Promising ‘Systemic Change’
Fears of violence grow as Somalia scraps power-sharing system
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