(New York) Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lauryn Hill and Megan Thee Stallion headline this year’s Global Citizen Festival, as the anti-poverty nonprofit seeks to draw attention to the increasing inequalities for girls and young women around the world.
Global Citizen President and CEO Hugh Evans announced that the September 23 event in New York’s Central Park will be the centerpiece of his group’s campaign to encourage its supporters, especially those from Gen Z, to take action against gender inequality, climate change and other issues.
Not only will Hill and Megan Thee Stallion provide examples of female empowerment with their performances, but Evans hopes they’ll inspire their fans to take action during the event, which will be streamed across multiple digital platforms.
“For many decades, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have occupied this space where music and activism meet,” he said, adding that he couldn’t be happier with this lineup.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, 257 million women worldwide want to avoid pregnancy, but do not have access to modern contraceptives. The fund’s partnership to provide reproductive health services is currently underfunded by US$100 million.
Education Cannot Wait, the UN fund that helps ensure nearly 20 million children in crisis continue to learn, needs US$670 million to do its work.
The Global Citizen Festival, which will also include performances by K-pop sensation Stray Kids and singer-songwriter Conan Gray, is offering free tickets to the event in exchange for a commitment from spectators , on the group’s website and application, to pursue these objectives.
This year, that could mean asking Canada, Norway and Japan to donate more to the UN Population Fund. That could mean pushing companies to join the UN’s Zero Race to set targets for reducing their carbon emissions. Or to urge the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Australia to provide more funding to vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change.
Global Citizen’s use of supporters to convince political, business and philanthropic leaders to tackle some of the world’s biggest issues is designed to appeal to younger generations, Evans said.
Singer Angelique Kidjo, who was recently named to this year’s list of Great Immigrants by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, says her Batonga Foundation has found that supporting girls and young women ends up strengthening entire villages in his native Benin and throughout Africa.
“Helping women in a community is like starting a stone that keeps rolling,” she said. She added that it was women who kept their villages safe during the COVID-19 pandemic by making masks and hand soap, while implementing social distancing.
