The CEO of activism organization Global Citizen says the sense of urgency that younger generations bring to solving international challenges needs to be nurtured in the rest of the world
NEW YORK — Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans says the sense of urgency that younger generations bring to solving international challenges needs to be nurtured in the rest of the world.
“So many of the world’s most prolific movements were started by people when they were young,” Hugh Evans said, noting that Martin Luther King Jr. was only 34 when he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. “Can you imagine that? (Nelson) Mandela was 26 when he co-founded the ANC Youth League. Malala (Yousafzai) was 11 when she gave her first protest speech. And my hero (William) Wilberforce was 21 when he entered into politics. So we have to get our skates on.”
The Associated Press spoke with Evans shortly before Saturday’s Global Citizen Festival in New York, am event headlined by superstars like Post Malone and Doja Cat, as well as breakout artists like Benson Boone and Rauw Alejandro. The festival generated more than $1 billion in new commitments to fight extreme poverty, as well as a new partnership with FIFA in which Global Citizen supporters get tickets to matches by taking action on humanitarian issues.
The interview was edited for clarity and length.
Q: Can you talk about the Global Citizen Festival’s importance?
A: We’re operating against the backdrop of a world with constant shocks — the ongoing shock of recovering from the pandemic and now the shocks of global conflicts. That has resulted in the first time in our lifetime where poverty for the last three years has been on the increase. We’re talking about 719 million people now living on less than $2.15 a day worldwide. The other big shock that the world hasn’t yet fully experienced is the shock of climate change, which has the potential to push another 100 million people into extreme poverty in the next ten years.
Q: You asked Global Citizen supporters to write their leaders about fully funding the World Bank’s International Development Association. You want them to encourage Colombia to stop providing licenses to companies seeking to drill in the Amazon. And you’re hoping to raise $250 million to provide education for 72 million kids currently out of school due to conflict.
A: Those are our big pushes this time. We want to address the reality that the world is confronting multiple crises at once.
Q: During United Nations General Assembly Week last week, many groups did outreach to Generation Z. Global Citizen has done that for years.
A: Based on our most recent data, over 70% of our members are Gen Z. We need to continue to double down on that. It’s fueled by the reality that I think we have a model of activism powered through the Global Citizen app that young people can relate to. And it gives them the power of putting activism and advocacy within their own hands. I think that our approach has always been to try to equip young people with the best, most thoughtful policy asks that are backed by incredible research and data and have the ability to have the most profound impact to bring an end to extreme poverty.