Global Citizens: How You Can Make a Difference One Music Festival at a Time

On September 26th, 2015, I found myself standing in the middle of the Great Lawn at Central Park surrounded by more than 60,000 concert goers. The funny thing is if anyone told me I’d be graced with the presence of Beyonce, Coldplay, Michelle Obama, and dozens of other celebrities and activists earlier that day, I never would’ve believed them. I can thank my niece for inviting me to attend the festival with her two hours before it started and introducing me to the world of Global Citizens. After jamming out to Ed Sheeran and listening to Malala Yousafzai’s heartfelt speech on education, I was immediately drawn to the cause.

The Global Poverty Project is an international organization dedicated to bringing an end to poverty. They’re the mastermind behind the festival through the Global Citizen platform, which is a project that intends to bring awareness to worldwide issues such as poverty, women’s rights, and access to clean water and food. The Global Citizens Festival was inaugurated in 2012 and has taken place in New York City every September ever since. This is one of the few events where you can see influencers like Rihanna, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Malala all take the same stage. You haven’t heard the best part yet - this festival is 100% free!

Even though the Global Citizens is a free event, you still have to earn your tickets by completing simple yet impactful tasks and having your name entered in a lottery. Most of these tasks involve sending a message to representatives and international leaders about important issues plaguing the world through Twitter, Instagram and phone calls. In order to win tickets, you must get the Global Citizens app on your phone and sign up. Afterwards, you can start earning points by completing the aforementioned tasks. Once you have enough points, which luckily doesn’t take too long to earn, you’re eligible to enter the drawing.

Don’t let the fact that there’s a lottery deter you from earning tickets. This process usually begins in mid-July. There are four drawings to give away thousands of tickets, and you can enter all of them. Winners receive two tickets every time their name is selected. I can assure you that from personal experience that the chance of winning is quite high. For the 2016 festival, I entered all four drawings, and I won three times, giving me a total of 6 tickets. The following year, I won multiple times once again. The odds will (most likely) be in your favor.

Ticket season may be a few months away for the Global Citizens festival, but there are other perks for signing up for a Global Citizens account and completing tasks ASAP! The company also gives away tickets to concerts and sporting events throughout the year. Recently, Global Citizens gave away Ed Sheeran and Fall Out Boy tickets. Also, these events aren’t limited to just New York City. As a matter of facts, they’re actually international so definitely check it out!

After attending my very first Global Citizens Festival in 2015, I was empowered by the beliefs this movement stands for. I recall how Malala Yousafzai and former First Lady, Michelle Obama delivered powerful speeches in which they called for free secondary education for all girls worldwide. Although I always found this issue significant, I was under the impression that a person my age couldn’t do much to help. After attending hearing these wonderful ladies speak, I realized I was wrong. Calling your government to ask for support and tweeting about

the cause goes a long way. The movement for educating girls gains momentum as you spread awareness. According to Global Citizens, the result of education is higher income, democracy and stronger human rights.

The Global Citizens Festival is also great in the sense that it appreciates and brings attention to various cultures of the world. For example, in the 2015 event, Bollywood singer Sunidhi Chauhan took the stage and performed some of her greatest hits. It was heartwarming to see thousands of people dancing along to Indian music although many of them were unfamiliar with it. A year later, the Kenyan Boys Choir played their rendition of Selena Gomez’s “Kill Them with Kindness.” Barriers were nonexistent and almost a hundred thousand individuals were united under one influential music festival.

The best part about this whole experience is definitely the memories. In 2016, I ended up waiting on line for a good few hours (be prepared for that). However, instead of being annoyed at the amount of people and the summer heat, my friends and I cracked jokes as we excitedly waited for the show. We were extremely lucky to get a spot close to the stage. It was exhilarating to see some of my favorite celebrities such as Kendrick Lamar and Priyanka Chopra from a close distance. The following year, I attended the Global Citizens with my best friend and we were forced to duck from flying water bottles, courtesy of MSNBC. To put it simply, my experience at the past three festivals was unforgettable.

I highly recommend the Global Citizens Festival. You’ll be getting the best of both worlds by bringing great changes to the world and enjoying amazing performances. Plus they also give out free high quality water bottles to those who attend. The Global Citizen Festival is truly a magical and life changing experience no one should miss out on!