So I’m organizing a really cool event on September 24th in Manhattan's Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at 6pm and I need you to come. Why would I come to an event on a Thursday night at a location I can’t pronounce? WELL - buckle in, because I’m about to tell you why, and also give you a little insight into the planning of an event like no other…
So first off - what is the event?
Well I guess I should start off by telling you that we’re on the brink of something historic - proper grandkids story, life changing historic, and it’s happening in 2 weeks time. On September 25th, the UN will announce the Global Goals (in case you don’t know what these life changing goals are, browse them here) which have the power to end poverty, fight inequality and start fixing climate change. 17 goals - 3 massive achievements.
The creation and announcement of these goals is incredible but we all know what can sometimes happen to pieces of paper that get signed by governments.
So to take these goals from paper to practice, we’ve got one hell of a plan lined up for September 24th - the night BEFORE they’re announced - to show the people power behind them and ensure government bodies know we the people mean business when it comes to fighting poverty and climate change.
So naturally, we’ve decided we should mobilize people all across the world, in over 100 locations, spanning 70 countries on the same day. This is what I’m part of planning, and this is why I haven’t slept in weeks.
This is where it gets fun…
On September 24th, as night falls across the globe, we have 100 public events (yes - 100!!) where people will take to the streets in their community, city, village, rooftop, school to #LightTheWay to the historic announcement the next day - old school activist style.
Our journey will begin in Australia and move across over 70 countries - from the release of sky lanterns in Nicaragua, to a candle-lit vigil by the Syrian child Of Za’atari camp in Jordan, to projections on Sydney Opera House, to women’s groups joining together across India to light diya lamps – the breadth of activity seen across the globe is incredibly inspiring, and really shows just how many people care about equality and the planet. I learnt today that something is being planned in Mongolia - hooray!
The event I’m planning, here in NYC is the final stop which concludes ALL these event, bringing the voices and actions of millions to New York as we stand as a global community under one sky (the event is called Under One Sky - do you see what we’ve done there?).
What’s happening in New York?
So here in New York, thousands of people will gather by the UN to end this epic journey and carry our message to the UN.
Throughout the day, we'll have captured footage and images of the global events, which will then be displayed on screens surrounding the crowds in New York. We'll have a short stage show which has everything from dynamic young campaigners, celeb guests (names coming soon...), pop-up choirs and a live link to the Kid President in the mini oval office.
But what’s really cool, is we’ll have rigged the whole park in an interactive light installation (crazy - I know) which will spark light sources across the park, powered by people’s action! These lights will build and grow throughout the event to reflect the voices and actions of people on that day, leading up to our finale moment where we’ll beam up into the sky to shine a physical light on the UN.
Now let me tell you, pulling this event together has not been easy, but can you remember a time when the world has come together like this? Not only that but there are some seriously diverse groups rallying behind this event - from multi-faith communities, to labor unions, climate activists, schools, artists, actors - all uniting with a passion and hope for a better world. The next two weeks will be crazy, but I hope you’ll join me and the rest of the world in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on September 24th, 6pm to stand under one sky and join this people’s movement.