10th anniversary Global Citizen Festival to be held in New York and Ghana
Africa will be well represented when the Global Citizen Festival celebrates its 10th year of defending the planet and fighting to defeat global poverty.
It was announced yesterday that Ghana would be the sister location, alongside New York City, for the 2022 Global Citizen Festival.
The event will be held live on September 24 from the iconic Global Citizen stage on the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York, and in Accra, Ghana.
Fans can look forward to performances from some of the biggest stars in the world, with the lineup to be announced over the next few months.
“The 10th anniversary festivals will focus on driving commitments towards defeating extreme poverty now,” the festival’s organisers said.
Theco-founder and chief policy, impact and government affairs officer of Global Citizen, Michael Sheldrick, said the organisation was thrilled to host an event in Ghana.
“Ghana has long been a champion of the Sustainable Development Goals and has seen great success in reducing poverty, building institutions, providing health care and education.
“The country has galvanised the rest of the continent through its strong institutions and decisive leadership, highlighting what can be possible.
“The world looks towards Ghana as a beacon in what marks its 65th anniversary year of independence, encouraging others to follow suit to end extreme poverty now.”
Lebashe Investment Group chair Tshepo Mahloele is a key part of the 10th anniversary event and initiatives to end global poverty after his appointment as patron of Global Citizen in Africa earlier this year. He will occupy the office for the next three years.
The End Extreme Poverty Now campaign, of which Mahloele is an advocate and key stakeholder, will involve multiple major global events, including the Global Citizen Prize, Global Citizen NOW Leadership Summit, the Global Citizen Festival 10th Anniversary and Global Citizen at the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Accepting the appointment, Mahloele pledged to work hard to mobilise governments, corporations and other world players to commit to the campaign fighting extreme poverty.
“I am honoured and humbled to play a meaningful role that supports existing global efforts to deal with vaccine equity, challenges poverty and empowers young girls.
“It is about time these matters are brought back on the global agenda.
“I am happy the Global Citizen movement has reignited the debate,” Mahloele said.
Mahloele is chair and founder of the Lebashe Investment Group and founder of Harith General Partners, the leading pan-African investor and developer of infrastructure across the continent.
The Lebashe Investment Group bought Tiso Blackstar Group’s media divisions, including The Herald, HeraldLIVE, Weekend Post, Sunday Times, TimesLIVE, Times Select, Business Day and BusinessLIVE for R1.05bn in 2019.