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Global Citizen, also known as Global Poverty Project, is an international education and advocacy organization that seeks to catalyze the movement to end extreme poverty and promote social justice and equity through the lens of intersectionality. The organization was founded by Hugh Evans, Michael Sheldrick, Simon Moss and Wei Soo, and aims to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action to support the cause. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Global Citizen's vision is, upon itself, a world without extreme poverty by 2030. [8] To achieve this, the organization works with people to make a difference in the present, and focuses on improving the future by changing the systems and policies that keep people in poverty, by utilizing education, communications, advocacy, campaigning, and the media. [9]
The organization researches and selects causes to support, and then suggests actions for its members to take in support of those causes. [10] This can include sending tweets to organizations like the United Nations in support of reducing pollution, signing petitions to support gender equality, sending pre-written emails to politicians to increase international aid, or providing rewards to encourage people to get involved. [10] [11] [12] Each cause supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, one of which includes eliminating poverty by 2030. [10]
Global Citizen was founded in 2008 as the Global Poverty Project in Melbourne, Australia [13] and has since opened additional offices in London, Berlin, Toronto, Lagos, and Johannesburg and is now headquartered in New York. [14] Since its launch the organization has:
In July 2017, Global Citizen published its first accountability report for its education commitments. [21] That same year, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard also used the organization's platform to call for $3.1 billion, to give 870 million children access to high-quality education via the organization she chairs, the Global Partnership for Education. [22] Over 263,000 organization members sent tweets, emails, and messages to world leaders and corporations in support. In February 2018, donors pledged over $2.3 billion to the cause. [21] [22]
In April 2020, the organization partnered with Lady Gaga and her mother to produce a globally-televised and streamed concert called One World: Together at Home, [22] featuring celebrities singing from their homes during the coronavirus pandemic. The event raised $129.7 million for different charities, including the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. [22] This was followed up in June with Global Goal: Unite for Our Future , a virtual event focused on highlighting the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities. [23]
As of July 2020, $48.4 billion have been pledged to Global Citizen-supported causes, and there have been almost 25 million actions taken by its members. [22] In 2020, Global Citizen won the Webby Award for Public Service and Activism in the category Apps, Mobile & Voice. [24]
1.4 Billion Reasons presentation is a live multimedia presentation designed to explain why an end to extreme poverty is possible, and the simple actions that every person can take to help bring it about.
Designed in consultation with development and economics advisors, the presentation explores:
• What it means to live in extreme poverty,
• Why the world can end extreme poverty,
• The barriers to overcoming extreme poverty,
• Practical actions any person can take to help tackle extreme poverty. [25]
Patterned after Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth , [26] [27] the presentation is delivered by volunteer presenters across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. [28]
The Curtis Scholarship is an annual leadership award funded by Global Citizen ambassador and Pearl Jam manager, Kelly Curtis, through the band's Vitalogy Foundation. [29]
The Global Citizen Fellowship was started in 2019 in partnership with Beyonce's BeyGood organization. [30] Every year, ten to fifteen South African young adults are enrolled in the program where they serve paid, year-long fellowships with Global Citizen in Johannesburg. [30] [31] Each fellowship focuses on one of GC's four pillars of activities: creative, campaigns, rewards, and marketing. [30] [31] The fellows follow a five phase curriculum, and are assigned a supervisor from the GC Africa team. [31]
Live Below the Line is an awareness and fundraising campaign that challenges people to feed themselves with the equivalent of the extreme poverty line. It aims to give participants personal insights into the lack of opportunity and choice available to people living in extreme poverty, and to open a window onto the challenges faced by those living in extreme poverty. [32] [33]
Global Citizen launched the campaign with The Oaktree Foundation in Australia in 2010, and have since taken the campaign to the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand – partnering with international development organizations to raise funds for a variety of poverty tackling initiatives. [34]
The campaign has involved more than 24,000 participants, has ‘started more than 400,000 conversations’ and raised more than $5 million for partner organisations working to fight poverty. [35] Hugh Jackman signed on as a Global Advisor to the Global Poverty Project, [36] [37] and is a public face for the Live Below the Line campaign. [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]
Since July 2011, the Global Citizen has worked with Rotary and its End Polio campaign. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 30 years.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary, End Polio and its partners reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since the first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. This campaign focuses on sharing the story of progress towards polio eradication, while aiming to build public support and momentum required to close the funding gap that is limiting global eradication efforts.[ citation needed ]
Since launch the campaign has gained signatures from more than 25,000 people and secured an additional $118 million in pledges for polio eradication. [44]
In October 2011 the campaign brought 4,000 people together at The End Polio campaign in Perth, where artists, local celebrities, polio survivors and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke about the importance of polio eradication. The next day 4 Governments and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed an additional $118 million to global polio eradication efforts.
The inaugural festival, held in 2012, featured Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Tiësto, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses, K'Naan, and John Legend. [45] [46] [47]
In September 2014, as the world's leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly, the 3rd annual Global Citizen Festival brought top artists and 60,000 change makers together on the Great Lawn of Central Park to urge leaders and citizens to do more to help end extreme poverty. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi gave a seven-minute speech on the global citizen festival stage, ending his speech by saying "May the force be with you". [48] Beyoncé also made a surprise appearance during husband Jay Z's performance.
The Festival celebrated the progress already made in fighting extreme poverty, secured financial commitments for tackling extreme poverty and disease, totaling US$1.3 billion, and called on thousands of ambassadors to take action for change.
The 2012 event featured Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Tiesto, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses and K'Naan - with a special appearance by John Legend. [45] [46] [47] the Global Citizen app launched alongside the event, and was the tool through which interested people had to earn tickets. [49] [24]
On September 26, 2015 the Global Citizen Festival was hosted by Stephen Colbert, Hugh Jackman and popular YouTube personalities Matthew Santoro and AsapScience. [50] [51] It featured performances from Pearl Jam, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay, among others.
The Waislitz Global Citizen Awards are given to four individuals working to end extreme poverty. [52] Each year, $250,000 is awarded in the form of a $100,000 grand prize, and three additional $50,000 prizes: the disrupter award, the citizen's choice award, and in 2020, the COVID-19 response award. [52] In 2020, the grand prize winner was Haroon Yasin, recognized for his educational organization Orenda. [52] The three additional prizes were awarded to Nnameka Ikegwuonu who founded ColdHubs; Farhad Wajdi for Ebtakar Inspiring Entrepreneurs of Afghanistan Organization; and Muzalema Mwanza for her Safe Motherhood Alliance. [52]
A year-long campaign to end COVID-19 for all and kickstart a global recovery was launched on February 23, 2021. The plan is based on five pillars: End COVID-19 for All; End the Hunger Crisis; Resume Learning Everywhere; Protect the Planet; Advance Equity for All. [53] The campaign is supported by the World Health Organization. [54]
Extreme poverty is defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services". Historically, other definitions have been proposed within the United Nations.
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe symptoms develop such as headache, neck stiffness, and paresthesia. These symptoms usually pass within one or two weeks. A less common symptom is permanent paralysis, and possible death in extreme cases. Years after recovery, post-polio syndrome may occur, with a slow development of muscle weakness similar to that which the person had during the initial infection.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.
The United Nations Foundation is a charitable organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports the United Nations and its activities. It was established in 1998 with a $1 billion gift to the United Nations by philanthropist Ted Turner, who believed the UN was crucial for addressing the world's problems. Originally primarily a grantmaker, the UN Foundation has evolved into a strategic partner to the UN, mobilizing support to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and help the UN address issues such as climate change, global health, gender equality, human rights, data and technology, peace, and humanitarian responses. The UN Foundation's main work occurs through building public-private partnerships, communities, initiatives, campaigns, and alliances to broaden support for the UN and solve global problems. The UN Foundation has helped build awareness and advocate for action on, among others, antimicrobial resistance, regional action on climate change, local implementation of the SDGs, as well as global campaigns such as Nothing But Nets against malaria, the Measles & Rubella Initiative, the Clean Cooking Alliance, Girl Up, Shot@Life, and the Digital Impact Alliance, among others. In March 2020, the UN Foundation was also a key founder of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO), helping to raise over $200 million USD within the first six weeks to support the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the X-Men film series, a role that earned him the Guinness World Record for "longest career as a live-action Marvel character", until 2022. Prominent on both screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Grammy Award and two Tony Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award. Jackman was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019.
In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These were based on the OECD DAC International Development Goals agreed by Development Ministers in the "Shaping the 21st Century Strategy". The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) succeeded the MDGs in 2016.
Pulse Polio is an immunisation campaign established by the government of India to eliminate poliomyelitis (polio) in India by vaccinating all children under the age of five years against the polio virus. The project fights polio through a large-scale, pulse vaccination programme and monitoring for poliomyelitis cases.
ONE Campaign is an international, non-partisan, non-profit organization advocating for the investments needed to create economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa. The campaigning organization uses data, grassroots activism, political engagement, and strategic partnerships to get political leaders to support policies and programs that save lives and improve futures.
Hugh Evans is an Australian humanitarian. Evans is the co-founder of both The Oaktree Foundation and Global Citizen, formerly called Global Poverty Project, and Executive Producer of One World:Together at Home and Global Citizen Live. He has received domestic and international accolades for his work in promoting youth advocacy and volunteerism in order to reduce extreme poverty in developing countries.
Polio eradication, the permanent global cessation of circulation of the poliovirus and hence elimination of the poliomyelitis (polio) it causes, is the aim of a multinational public health effort begun in 1988, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Rotary Foundation. These organizations, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Gates Foundation, have spearheaded the campaign through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Successful eradication of infectious diseases has been achieved twice before, with smallpox in humans and rinderpest in ruminants.
The eradication of infectious diseases is the reduction of the prevalence of an infectious disease in the global host population to zero.
The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions.
Live Below the Line is an annual anti-poverty campaign run by the Oaktree Foundation. The campaign began as a challenge in which participants would feed themselves on the equivalent of the extreme poverty line for five days to gain an insight into some of the hardships faced by those who live in extreme poverty, but was later expanded to include other activities to reflect a more diverse understanding of poverty. It also raises money for sustainable development projects across the globe.
The Global Citizen Festival is an annual music festival started in 2012 and organized by Global Poverty Project. It was founded by Ryan Gall and Hugh Evans. Gall said he was inspired by visiting Austin City Limits and seeing the branding on the stage, but wanting to replace the corporate branding with branding from charities.
India National PolioPlus Society is a non-profit organization. The Initiative has achieved significant progress toward its goals. There has been a dramatic decline in cases everywhere in the seventeen years since the target was set in 1988.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is an initiative created in 1988, just after the World Health Assembly resolved to eradicate the disease poliomyelitis. Led by the World Health Organization, it is the largest international public health initiative in history.
Global Citizen – EP 1 is the fourteenth extended play by British rock band Coldplay and their first release under the pseudonym Los Unidades. The project was made available worldwide on 30 November 2018 featuring production by Rik Simpson and musical guests including Pharrell Williams, David Guetta, Stargate and others.
The World Health Organization (WHO) created the Global Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis in 1995 to independently verify the eradication of wild poliovirus. The GCC certified the worldwide eradication of indigenous wild poliovirus type 2 on 20 September 2015, and wild poliovirus type 3 on 17 October 2019. In addition, five of the six World Health Organization Regions certified their status as free of indigenous transmission of all three serotypes of wild poliovirus :
The Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP) founded in 2010 by Heidi Larson, was developed in response to hesitancy and misinformation on vaccination programmes such as those that caused a boycott of polio eradication efforts in Northern Nigeria in 2003–04. It is an early warning system to identify and evaluate public confidence in vaccines, with the purpose of tackling the problem early, when it is likely to be manageable.
Michael Sheldrick is an Australian author and policy entrepreneur who seeks to address global challenges such as extreme poverty, global health and climate change. He is the co-founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer at Global Citizen.