Upcoming Events, New Speakers, Highlights from GC Now and EU budget cuts
A quick update from the road with several upcoming talks in London and Geneva, plus reflections on GC Now and an update on EU budget cuts. Make sure you're registered for any events!
Dear Friends and Supporters,
I am sending this from Europe where I am in the middle of a big week of meetings. In my downtime (such as it is these days!), I’ll also be giving a few book talks, the full upcoming list which you can check out here (details also copied below!). And if you’re in Geneva later today (Tuesday), do come by from 5:30-7pm for this book event at the SDG Solutions Space. In the meantime, here is a video I filmed at the UN Office of Human Rights earlier today.
On a quick fun and lighthearted note, just over a year ago, I documented how on my honeymoon in Kericho, Kenya, we planted a coffee tree, after seeing the potential of the coffee industry to or jobs (as well as being amongst the best coffee in the world). You can check out the piece I wrote out the time here. I recently got sent this picture of the tree and how it is today:
Now onto the updates!
British Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell to join Global Citizen at Parliament this Wednesday to highlight the critical role of British Aid. RSVP ASAP!
For those of you that are in London this week, we would love to invite you to join us on May 15th from 17:00pm for an evening reception and discussion on the intersection of girls' education and health, and the critical impact British aid has on both.
Global Citizen is partnering with MP Helen Grant, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Girls' Education to raise awareness on the critical issue of menstrual equity.
We're thrilled to announce that the Deputy Foreign Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has been confirmed to speak at the event.
Other speakers include:
Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland
Former Prime Minister of Norway and our board member, Erna Solberg
Executive Director of Uniting to Combat NTDs and Co-Chair of the G7 Taskforce on Global Health, Thoko Elphick-Pooley
Founder of the Pachamama Project & Period Poverty Activist, Ella Lambert
The event will take place at the UK House of Commons and small bites and drinks will be served. If you haven't already, please RSVP your participation to PSGrant@fcdo.gov.uk.
If you have any questions, please reach out to my colleague Kellen Edmondson (kellen.edmondson@globalcitizen.org). If you are unable to attend, please feel free to pass this invitation onto other colleagues.
Policy Highlights from Global Citizen NOW NY, May 1-2
With 19 diverse segments, Global Citizen Now addressed critical issues like ending deforestation in the Amazon, disease eradication, the importance of development assistance, and hunger alleviation. The participation of 42 speakers, including world leaders and policy experts, amplified key voices and drove accountability.
Beyond the main events, we organized seven impactful side events, a Global Solidarity Breakfast in partnership with our friends at Global Nation, a roundtable on the impact of music on development, and discussions on financing reform. These sessions also addressed how to pushback against the threat development assistance is facing right now. OkayAfrica also provided this fantastic overview of highlights here.
The Brazil / Equitable Earth Cocktail Hour marked the perfect conclusion to our event, bringing together over 120 leaders from various sectors around Brazil’s G20 and COP30 presidencies. Notably, bilateral meetings set the stage for future collaborations, including discussions on transitioning away from fossil fuels.
As we look ahead, our policy team is gearing up for the Global Citizen Festival (September 28th, New York), refining our targets to advocate for a flourishing planet, global solidarity, and fulfilling basic needs for all.
Who will the EU be in the world of tomorrow? 54 groups speak against cuts to development programmes
Global Citizen joined 54 civil society groups across the development, climate, humanitarian, health, and peace-building sectors in releasing a joint statement on 6 May ahead of a meeting of EU development ministers in Brussels. The statement is a response to the mid-term revision of the EU’s long term budget - the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - and in preparation of the EU’s next Strategic Agenda (2024-2029) and new budget beyond 2027.
“The mid-term revision of the EU’s long-term budget sends a damaging message to Europe’s partners, indicating that despite the extent of interlinked global challenges and despite the eradication of poverty being a stated aim of the EU, Europe’s primary focus lies in curtailing migration. We are concerned that these cuts will diminish the bloc's capacity to act at the global level, at the expense of global stability, security and prosperity - all of which are essential for Europe itself.”
Book Talks
Geneva Event Details:
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: SDG Solutions Space, 15 Avenue de Sécheron, Ground Floor
Featuring: Featuring Melissa Parke of ICAN, Melisande Kingchatchaval Schifter and Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao of Gavi, the vaccine alliance.
Refreshments will be served before and after the session.
Secure Your Spot: Register here ➡️ https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGB8Ip9kqx3jpCPHsCmR38AhNJMH9WzU1FIFMr7un9WzlUJw/viewform
London Morning Breakfast May 16:
Breakfast event at Benjamin Franklin House (36 Craven St, London, England WC2N 5NF) from 8:30 am onwards. As a recent addition to the board, I'm thrilled to join this intimate gathering at the sole remaining house of Benjamin Franklin. This breakfast event promises to be both enlightening and enjoyable at this 18th century house. Please RSVP to Michael Hall at operations@benjaminfranklinhouse.org.
London Evening May 16:
Date: May 16, 2024
Time: 5:30 PM onward
Venue: The Lounge by the Coffee Snobs, Great Tower Street, The Minster Building, London EC3R 7AG
Featuring: Featuring Uniting to Combat NTDs Thoko Elphick-Pooley, Music Policy Guru Shain Shapiro PhD, Cybersecurity expert Steve Hill, geopolitical risk expert Manas Chawla and Zubair Anwar-Bawany. Afterwards we'll grab drinks at a local bar.
RSVP here ➡️ https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/29559624015
London May 17th Breakfast Event with Mark Malloch Brown confirmed!
Date: May 17, 2024
Time: 9:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Venue: The Conduit
Join me, Ruth Davison, Global Director of Impact at The Conduit, and Jon Alexander, author of the hit book CITIZENS, for a compelling discussion on making change in a divided world. Featuring opening remarks from Mark Malloch Brown, President of the Open Society Foundation.
🔓 Non-Conduit members can register here ➡️ https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1mwWZS-BdSASGWO62CcMI4w2b2ovr
New York - Heal the Healer Weekend:
The past few years have been extraordinarily challenging for so many of us, especially healers, caregivers, and those blessed with deep empathy. In our passionate service to others, we often neglect our own self-care and can reach burnout.
That’s why I'm excited to announce that 25 free weekend passes for this community to Heal the Healer - a special weekend event in New York City on May 18-19 where I'll be joined by remarkable speakers including Global Citizen supporter Joshua Rosenthal, Andrea Beaman, and Oz Garcia.
At this transformative weekend event, the organizer’s will explore powerful practices to nourish our mind, body, and spirit. You'll gain insights to deepen your journey of personal growth and inner healing.
If you'd like to attend Heal the Healer, please email events@joshuarosenthal.com to request your complimentary pass.
And Bridgetown Barbados, May 25th
Child Marriage Campaign Continues
Our campaign to end child marriage in California continued with an inspiring panel discussion at Day 2 of GCNOW NY featuring the following champions:
Tubi Retta, Director, Girls Opportunity Alliance, Obama Foundation
Fraidy Reiss, Founder and Executive Director of Unchained at Last
Dr. Kakenya Ntaia, Founder of Kakenya’s Dream
And moderated by Payzee Mahmod, child marriage survivor and IKWRO founder
The panel outlined the complexities and implications of forced marriage, and identified interventions that could help end this harmful practice. Fom strategic, coordinated, cross sectoral collaboration, to the importance of sustainable funding of grassroots organizations, to improving access to and quality of schools, there’s much we can do to end Child Marriage in California. California State Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Ash Kalra recently cancelled the hearing for California’s child marriage bill - since then, we’ve called on Global Citizens to take action, which you can do here.
The next stage will take place in Sacramento on June 4th with an event highlighting this urgent call to action. Please email ivana.pajevic@globalpovertyproject.com for more details and to register.
My Weekend Reading List
A colonial mindset’: why global aid agencies need to get out of the way
The World Needs $9T Annually by 2030 to Close Climate Finance Gap
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
PS: As noted above, I will be giving upcoming book talks that you can register for here in London, Geneva and Bridgetown, Barbados.
PPS: If you haven’t already done so I would be most grateful if you might consider contributing a review on amazon or other related site if you found my book useful!