At this week’s Global Citizen NOW conference, the international advocacy organization aimed to direct resources toward antipoverty causes by promoting long-term investments in the rapidly expanding youth population of the African continent and expanding outreach to young changemakers globally.
Hugh Evans, CEO of Global Citizen, stated that governmental, corporate, and charitable leaders must now more than ever assist health and education in the least developed countries due to the unstable international environment. The largest requests of the week included up to $6 billion for African economic growth and $600 million for a fund managed by the UN that would help education in times of need.
“I don’t need to lecture anyone about polarization,” Evans told The Associated Press. “But I do think that the corollary of that is that sometimes people can feel completely hopeless and disempowered. My one hope is that our platform continues to stand for clear, decisive, practical actions that citizens can take to change the world for good.”
The two-day conference in New York relied on the celebrity support of longstanding supporter Hugh Jackman, Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, and Brazilian singer Anitta to achieve its objectives. Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, even made a previously undisclosed appearance on Wednesday to talk about how men can actively combat sexism and support women’s rights.
“The Walking Dead” and “Black Panther” star Danai Gurira said more Western aid alone is not enough. African nations need true self-determinism because “we are so far from uprooting ourselves from colonialism,” according to the Iowa-born actress who was raised in Zimbabwe.
“We are ridiculously wealthy, from the cobalt to the lithium to the diamonds to the rubber to the oil,” she said. “But often you don’t see us in control of it.”
About 60% of Africa’s population is under 25 years old, a significant talent that two-time Super Bowl champion Osi Umenyiora believes needs more opportunities.
Umenyiora is leading the National Football League’s efforts to provide training for international athletes to get college scouts’ attention and play professionally.
The NFL has academies in the UK and Australia, but he hopes to add facilities in Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco by 2030. Umenyiora believes the best athletes in the world are in Africa, but they haven’t been developed or trained.
Global Citizen will co-present an economic summit in Ivory Coast to boost foreign aid to Sub-Saharan Africa, where the working-age population is expected to double by 2050 but many lack access to electricity.
Former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven emphasized the importance of development assistance as a mutually beneficial investment, aiming to spend 1% of Sweden’s gross national income on aid. Global Citizen, a nonpartisan civic engagement group, recently partnered with World Bank President Ajay Banga to draw Gen Z into its 12 million-member network.
Nonpartisan civic engagement groups HeadCount and I Am A Voter announced a merger to increase youth voter registration during the U.S. presidential election.
Speakers shared strategies for engaging authentically with young people online, such as hosting classes on Instagram Live to educate fans about environmental issues.
Actor Jordan Fisher acknowledged that seemingly insurmountable student loans or unaffordable housing markets might make young people feel politically lost, but emphasized that voting is just one way to begin getting involved.
Fisher is also identifying new platforms to empower members of Global Citizen, such as livestreaming services like Twitch, to raise money and awareness among audiences.