What does it imply to take motion on the problems you care about? And to advocate for change in a world the place typically even the most important international crises, like warfare, excessive starvation, and local weather change, really feel so near dwelling?
You discover a neighborhood of like-minded individuals who share your imaginative and prescient of hope. And by becoming a member of, you change into a part of a worldwide motion devoted to creating the world a greater place.
You change into a worldwide citizen.
In 2023, greater than 4.2 million actions helped to safe historic pledges for fairness, the planet, and poverty eradication.
By way of campaigns like World Citizen: NOW and World Citizen Competition: New York and new ones like World Citizen: Energy Our Planet and Transfer Afrika: Rwanda, world leaders, artists, and philanthropists got here collectively throughout three continents to unite for change.
“At a time when some leaders are strolling again their guarantees, your actions ship impression. So don’t cease taking motion,” World Citizen Co-Founder and CEO Hugh Evans informed audiences from the New York stage on the World Citizen Competition in September.
“Local weather change can’t hit pause whereas world leaders get their act collectively. So don’t cease. The poorest individuals on Earth haven’t got a long time to spare. So don’t cease. We will’t watch for another person to take motion. Now we have to take motion NOW,” he stated.
All through 2023, greater than 88,000 viewers members from throughout three continents witnessed 38 world leaders take the stage to decide to initiatives that may assist finish excessive poverty in our lifetime.
World Residents additionally celebrated 5 winners of the two023 Cisco Youth Management Award and the World Citizen Prize — Nkosana Butholenkosi Masuku, Deja Foxx, Pashtana Durrani, Wangari Kuria, and Ineza Umuhoza Grace — who’re proper now taking up the world’s greatest challenges from schooling to local weather change.
Sixty exceptional artists additionally took the World Citizen stage in Kigali, Paris and New York Metropolis, together with Kendrick Lamar, the Purple Sizzling Chilli Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill and the Fugees, Lenny Kravitz, Billie Eilish, Natasha Bedingfield, and lots of others.
World Citizen targeted on enhancing entry to schooling for Schooling Can not Wait forward of the replenishment, as a part of the group’s 222 Million Goals marketing campaign.
In its second yr, the World Citizen NOW motion summit, held in New York Metropolis on April 27 and 28, drove cross-sector collaboration to handle the urgent points going through humanity and the planet, together with the launch of the “Energy Our Planet” marketing campaign to unlock $1 trillion for weak nations affected by local weather change.
“Now we have to construct a brand new consensus now, combat towards poverty, decarbonize our economic system, exactly to get to a carbon neutrality by 2050, and to combat for biodiversity,” French President Emmanuel Macron stated in an unique interview with former MSNBC information hostJoe Scarborough on the New York occasion. “We want this country-by-country strategy and we have now to be very exact on methods to re-engage public cash on the bilateral multilateral aspect and personal cash.”
Later in June, World Citizen traveled to Paris, for the ‘Energy Our Planet: Reside in Paris’ which drew 20,000 World Residents, lighting up the long-lasting Champ de Mars to name for justice on behalf of the world’s climate-vulnerable international locations.
.@billieeilish‘s efficiency at #PowerOurPlanet: Reside in Paris is The whole lot *We* Wished 🎶 pic.twitter.com/se9KWjHnX5
— World Citizen ⭕ (@GlblCtzn) June 22, 2023
“I can not even stress it sufficient – we have to change our complete system in order that the individuals most impacted by the local weather disaster get what they should combat it,” singer-songwriter Billie Eilish informed the Paris viewers.
“Be part of me in demanding motion from international leaders. Not sooner or later, however proper NOW,” she stated.
Eilish joined different worldwide artists together with Jon Batiste, H.E.R, Lenny Kravitz, Jack Harlow, and extra alongside world leaders together with Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,, President of Kenya William Ruto, and extra to name for motion on local weather in the course of the occasion.
Activists together with Helena Gualinga, Camille Etienne, Elizabeth Wathuti, and Xiye Bastida took motion alongside international residents from world wide to assist safe a dedication from Ajay Banga, President of the World Financial institution, who took to the stage at ‘Energy Our Planet’ to announce a basic shift within the World Financial institution’s insurance policies to assist international locations in want combat again towards local weather change.
“The Amazon rainforest is the biggest tropical rainforest on this planet… and that i’m right here to announce we could have zero deforestation within the Amazon rainforest — we will likely be relentless towards any group or individual that desires to chop down one tree.” @LulaOficial#PowerOurPlanetpic.twitter.com/CONduOCeCM
— World Citizen Influence (@GlblCtznImpact) June 22, 2023
Later this yr in September, the World Citizen Competition returned to Central Park, New York Metropolis, in its eleventh yr, uniting 60,000 international residents for a day of motion to finish excessive poverty NOW.
World residents took greater than 3.3 million actions to demand change in the course of the occasion — the highest variety of actions for a New York competition ever.
The audiences heard performances from the Purple Sizzling Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Jung Kook, Anitta, Stray Youngsters, 3RACHA, and lots of extra in addition to main activists and advocates to safe historic commitments throughout fairness, the planet, and assist handle the worldwide meals disaster.
And this December, World Citizen launched the primary installment of ‘Transfer Afrika’, a first-of-its-kind worldwide music touring circuit — with “Transfer Afrika: Rwanda held in Kigali’s BK Area on Dec. 6 to a sold-out viewers of 8,000 individuals.
Organized by pgLang in partnership with Grammy Award-winning artist Kendrick Lamar, Transfer Afrika: Rwanda’s mission is to finish excessive poverty throughout the continent by growing native economies, driving well being fairness, prioritizing youth entrepreneurship, and abilities coaching.
Already the present has generated a longstanding impression for native communities by way of internships and abilities improvement – initiatives that can increase as extra African nations host Transfer Afrika within the years forward.
Taking 4.2 million actions is not any small accomplishment, producing super commitments throughout key points in step with the United Nations World Objectives to finish poverty by 2030.
In 2023, international residents took 1.5 million actions alone to demand fairness in areas like gender, civic area, and well being entry resulting in groundbreaking commitments throughout these points and several other first-time pledges.
This included a dedication by the international locations Kosovo and Lithuania which pledged to guard international human rights defenders, and the addition of 5 new corporations signing onto the Anti-SLAPP pledge to guard the rights of advocates.
Belgium additionally donated €2 million to UNFPA Provides to strengthen well being methods to offer sexual and reproductive well being to girls and ladies throughout 48 international locations.
The “Company Care Community,” launched by JUST Capital and World Citizen, redefined company duty, whereas Accenture dedicated $4.5 million to assist youth employment throughout international locations to drive fairness.
By way of 1.5 million actions in 2023, international residents additionally took motion on schooling, meals safety, well being, and extra to finish excessive poverty for communities world wide.
Pledges from the Stand Up for Ukraine initiative, led by World Citizen in partnership with the European Union, have at the moment supported over a million refugees and internally displaced individuals throughout 12 international locations.
Sightsavers, a corporation working to forestall avoidable blindness, helped eradicate Trachoma in Benin, and efficiently treated hundreds of thousands of individuals towards the sickness whereas supporting governments in Ghana, The Gambia, and Malawi to ultimately eradicate the illness as soon as and for all.
World Citizen additionally introduced in December that greater than $7.4 billion in funding mobilized on the World Citizen: Mandela 100 Competition in South Africa is now with organizations serving to to finish poverty, impacting the lives of 122 million individuals globally.
The World Citizen Fellowship Program, powered by BeyGOOD can be offering important abilities coaching to 50 younger individuals in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, this December’s annual report revealed, offering them with important abilities and networks to change into social impression changemakers.
“In my own residence nation of Grenada, local weather change is a really actual menace for us and different islands… time is just not on our aspect… we should act with urgency to each minimize international emissions and to guard nature and promote biodiversity.” @simonstiell@UNFCCC#GlobalCitizenFestivalpic.twitter.com/I2lrNdPmZe
— World Citizen Influence (@GlblCtznImpact) September 24, 2023
France additionally elevated its contribution to the Worldwide Fund for Agricultural Improvement (IFAD) by practically 50% to $150 million, alongside a brand new dedication of €40 million to Schooling Can not Wait, the worldwide fund devoted to schooling in emergencies, to assist kids’s studying in disaster. Norway additionally pledged $90 million to IFAD as a part of the competition.
Each commitments have been introduced on the World Citizen Competition in New York following months of campaigning and action-taking from international residents.
The Helmsley Charitable Belief additionally pledged $3 million to the World Polio Eradication Initiative to assist eradicate polio as soon as and for all.
From Paris to New York, World Residents additionally took 1.2 million actions to defend the planet, combat local weather injustice, and arise for individuals impacted by local weather change in 2023
The international locations of Antigua and Barbuda and Timor Leste additionally introduced the endorsement of the Fossil Gas Non-Proliferation Treaty to affix the worldwide transition away from coal, oil, and fuel, alongside different nations throughout the Pacific, paving the best way for Colombia announce an endorsement of the treaty at The 2023 United Nations Local weather Change Convention in December.
Brazil’s State of Pará pledged to increase protected areas by 1 million hectares within the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and restore 5 million hectares of forest by 2030.
Key assist for local weather financing got here from 9 United States Congress members, the United Kingdom Labour chief Keir Starmer, and Eire reaffirmed their dedication to offering €225 million yearly for worldwide local weather finance by 2025. The U.S. additionally contributed $15 million to launch the Finish Plastic Air pollution Worldwide Collaborative.
“Change could not occur in a single day, however it has to begin someplace. Motion can’t be taken in some far off future, in reality it can’t even watch for tomorrow — we have to do that TODAY.” — @miaamormottley#PowerOurPlanetpic.twitter.com/cLz17FLUm9
— World Citizen Influence (@GlblCtznImpact) June 22, 2023
To finish excessive poverty, we should all commit to vary. But this alteration solely occurs after we’re unwavering in our dedication to create a world the place everybody thrives with dignity.
Placing dignity into observe means placing into movement the mechanisms that enable for sustainable motion on the most important disaster of our time, from local weather change to gender fairness, defending civic area, and entry to healthcare.
World Residents have taken over 33.5 million actions since 2009. Immediately, these actions, together with high-level advocacy work, have led to over $43.6 billion being distributed to our companions world wide, impacting 1.29 billion lives within the combat to finish excessive poverty.
It’s by no means been extra essential for the world to take motion towards local weather change, international starvation, gender inequality, diminishing civic areas, and the systemic points that preserve individuals trapped in poverty.
Add your voice to the motion and be a part of World Citizen on the mission to finish excessive poverty and drive options to a few of the world’s greatest challenges.