Celebrities
Hugh Jackman and Chris Martin to co-chair Global Citizen NOW summit
Hugh Jackman and Chris Martin will co-chair the organization’s summit in April.
The Global Citizen NOW foundation is an impact-driven organization that focuses urgent action to end extreme poverty using “cross-sector” means. The organization announced on Tuesday their annual summit will be co-chaired by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and ‘X-Men’ actor Hugh Jackman on April 27 and 28, with a VIP guest list.
Leaders in politics, the entertainment industry, the corporate sector, public policy, and climate activism will congregate to brainstorm their vision for the future. Attendees include the President of the European Commission, the Prime Minister of Barbados, the President of Ghana, and the former Prime Minister of Norway.
What is Global Citizen NOW?
According to the Global Citizen NOW website, the program is focused on “turning ideas into impact and driving urgent action to end extreme poverty NOW.”
“Convening the brightest minds and leading voices across all spheres of society,” the foundation wrote, “from world leaders to grassroots activists, Global Citizen NOW showcases the power of cross-sector collaboration to solve the most urgent issues facing humanity and our planet.”
The CEO comments on the summit
The CEO and co-founder of Global Citizen NOW, Hugh Evans, emphasized the importance of the summit, or “annual advocacy festival”, with its goals to spark policy changes in the areas of women’s equality, education, health, water and sanitation, environment, finance and innovation, and food and hunger.
“Decades of systemic and political failures have led humanity into the midst of converging and rapidly deteriorating crises – climate, hunger, health, war, and conflict,” Evans said. “The most marginalized populations are paying the price of the stagnant inaction of our leaders, and now millions of lives, and the future of our planet, are at stake.”
“We refuse to just stand by and watch! We refuse to accept the starvation of multitudes when solutions are readily at hand. We demand a secure future for girls everywhere. We demand governments keep their promises on climate funding. We demand relief from debts unjustly crushing economies. And we demand action NOW, while there’s still time to change our collective trajectory.”