Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer, Global Citizen
I am often asked how we can improve the state of global citizenship. My answer: we bring individuals back to the forefront of multilateralism. A lot of people feel that the realm of international affairs is too distant and abstract for them to meaningfully impact it. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
In the world today, politicians often hesitate to address our shared challenges, such as food insecurity and climate change, whether in their own communities or overseas. To find common ground, Global Citizen aims to compel governments to tackle extreme poverty as the critical underlying issue that can move global collaboration.
We build constituencies of support and enable people across the world to actively engage with decision-makers and to demand imple- mentation of very specific policy solutions. In short, we create channels for individual people to affect global change by helping them navi- gate systems of power.
We translate lofty discussions in corridors of power to the individual level—not only breaking down complicated issues so people can get engaged, but also so those in power can better understand and respond to the needs of people.
Our multi-stakeholder approach unites governments, organizations, the private sector, philanthropy, activists, and individuals worldwide around our shared goals. We are contributing to a new kind of people-centered multilateralism that is about more than insti- tutions and the diplomats that inhabit them. Recognizing that no single entity can tackle these pressing issues alone, we emphasize the need for collective action. Our united efforts can lay the foundation for a stronger, more resilient system, acknowledging that events on one side of the world can profoundly impact us all.
There may be those who find reading General Assembly Resolutions and UN treaties fasci- nating—but it is not realistic to expect most people to follow the details of international bureaucracy. The same is true for the deliber- ations of national parliaments, and yet people everywhere care deeply about their countries. When I reflect on our constituency of more than 11 million global citizens, I am constantly reminded of the extent to which, in many instances, large swathes of the public are ahead of where our leaders are, despite the shocks of the last few years.
We saw global solidarity in the incredible re- sponses by everyday citizens to our campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic around vaccine equity. We saw it in the “Peoples’ Lend-Lease” in support of those impacted by the war in Ukraine. And we see it in the growing sense of togetherness many feel with those on the frontlines of climate change.
The Green Shoots of public support we see provide a strong foundation to prompt our leaders to wake up and invest in achieving our Shared Purpose together. Now is the moment to harness the power of public opinion and strengthen solidarity
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