This year marked an important milestone for Global Citizen’s movement. From New York to Belém, Singapore to Sevilla, Detroit to Johannesburg, and Lagos to Berlin, global citizens everywhere came together to take action, raise their voices, and encourage decision-makers to deliver measurable outcomes.
Once again, we showed what happens when millions of people refuse to sit on the sidelines. This year alone, a mind-blowing 11.2 million actions were taken, including 4.3 million actions in the lead-up to this year’s Global Citizen Festival in NYC and 4.4 million across Protect the Amazon, our largest, year-long climate action campaign to date.
The results speak for themselves: over $1 billion secured to protect the Amazon, 26.8 gigawatts of clean energy across Africa pledged, billions committed to vaccine equity, and global momentum building for children’s education, nutrition, and climate resilience.
In short, it was a breakthrough year on many levels. Here’s a snapshot of what we achieved together.
Festivals That Were Much More than Music
Global Citizen Festival in New York City
Central Park’s Great Lawn once again became a central gathering place for action. Global Citizen Festival: NYC united 60,000 Global Citizens in New York City with world-renowned artists such as Shakira and Cardi B, world leaders, and philanthropists to highlight priorities aimed at ending extreme poverty, focusing on three core campaigns: expanding renewable energy access across Africa, protecting and restoring the Amazon rainforest, and broadening education and football opportunities for children.
Specifically, the 2025 Festival campaign exceeded the targets it set by mobilizing $280 million to safeguard 25 million hectares of the Amazon rainforest, delivering energy access to 4.6 million homes across Africa, and raising more than $140 million for children’s education and nutrition, including more than $30 million for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, all of which contribute to Global Citizen’s mission to end extreme poverty within our lifetime.
Global Citizen Festival: Amazônia
In November, the Global Citizen Festival: Amazônia, Global Citizen’s first ever music festival in Latin America, united 50,000 people at the Estádio Olímpico do Pará (Mangueirão) in Belém, Brazil, at the very gateway of the Amazon for the culmination of the year-long Protect the Amazon campaign. The festival was a celebration and a rousing finale to the campaign, reaching its ultimate, ambitious goal by securing more than $1 billion in commitments to safeguard the rainforest and the communities that rely on it, restoring or protecting 31 million hectares of the rainforest and impacting the lives of 18 million people across the region through substantial investments in green tech skills training, efforts to expand access to clean energy particularly in hard-to-reach areas, and strengthening climate resilience for frontline communities.
Move Afrika 2025
This year’s Move Afrika tour made waves as it expanded from East to West Africa, breaking new ground in the music touring circuit for international artists. For the first time ever, Move Afrika touched down in Lagos and Nigeria, delivering electrifying, cross-continental nights of music and citizen-led advocacy.
This 2025 edition drove citizen-driven engagement by championing sustainable development and economic growth, with a dedicated focus on strengthening health systems across Africa. Together with campaign partners, Global Citizen encouraged dialogue around increased domestic health financing, prioritized primary care and sexual and reproductive health and rights, boosted global investments in health resilience, and alleviated financial burdens on nations to strengthen public health.
Campaigns With Impact
Protecting the Amazon
This year-long climate action campaign delivered major wins on the road to COP30 this year, achieving its goal of securing more than $1 billion to protect the Amazon, restore ecosystems, and support communities most exposed to climate impacts. Driven by 4.4 million citizen actions — the highest taken in five years — these funds will channel resources into community-centered initiatives and nature funds across the region, helping protect or restore 31 million hectares of rainforest — an area the size of 43 million football fields — through new conservation projects, long-term protection of Indigenous territories, and catalytic finance for sustainable innovation.
Commitments made will also impact the lives of 18 million people by expanding access to clean energy, green technology skills training, and essential climate resilience programs. The campaign was developed in consultation with more than 190 civil society organizations to ensure Indigenous and local communities shaped the agenda, cementing this effort as a landmark moment putting the Amazon and its people center stage.
Moving the Goal Posts: The FIFA x Global Citizen Halftime Takeover
As part of our partnership with FIFA, Global Citizen has set out to raise $100 million to support the education of 100,000 children worldwide through the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund — a bold initiative designed to expand access to quality education and football in underserved communities across 200 countries.
With the fundraising deadline tied to the FIFA World Cup Final in July 2026, momentum has quickly grown, fueled in part by the donation of $1 from every ticket sold at major international events, including the Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn tour and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Anyone is able to contribute, helping drive this global effort forward. To date, the Fund has raised over $31 million, about one-third of our total goal, thanks to support from Qatar, as well as FIFA Connect, Cisco, Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and founding donors Bank of America and the MetLife Foundation. Additionally, the government of Sierra Leone has pledged a complementary commitment to match up to $7.5 million to support locally based educational organizations in the country, further advancing the campaign’s goals.
As a highlight of the partnership, Global Citizen produced FIFA’s first-ever Club World Cup Final halftime show, featuring electrifying performances by J Balvin, Tems, Doja Cat, and a surprise appearance by Coldplay. And with preparations already underway for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final halftime show, even bigger moments are set to follow.
Scaling Up Renewables in Africa
Officially launched in November 2024 by Global Citizen alongside Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, and developed with policy support from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Scaling Up Renewables in Africa (SURA) set out with a bold mission to confront Africa’s deep energy inequities head-on and help jumpstart the continent’s clean energy transformation — and with the first-ever Global Citizen NOW on the continent serving as a pledging moment for the campaign, it delivered. The campaign culminated on the sidelines of the G20 Summit at Global Citizen NOW: Johannesburg with breakthrough pledges that will help unlock electricity access for over 17.5 million homes and deliver 26.8 gigawatts of clean energy across the continent by 2030.
Vaccines for the Future
Global Citizen continued to champion Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s 6.0 replenishment effort, urging countries to commit funds toward Gavi’s goal to immunize 500 million children by 2030 and generate $100 billion in economic benefits for vulnerable nations. In response, Global Citizens took more than 385,000 actions emphasizing the importance of expanding vaccine access, helping drive early pledges from key nations and first-time donors Croatia and Portugal at Global Citizen NOW: NYC. Governments heeded the call: the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Croatia, Portugal, Canada, Australia, and the EU all mobilized following Global Citizen’s campaigning efforts, leading to $7.2 billion committed to support Gavi’s mission. The replenishment summit — co-hosted in Brussels by the European Union and the Gates Foundation with production support from Global Citizen — ultimately brought together 55 countries and major donors who reaffirmed their commitment to Gavi’s mission by pledging over $9 billion toward its next five-year strategic period to build a safer, healthier, and more equitable world for all.
Global Citizen NOWs Brought the Movement to New Places and Heights
This year, Global Citizen’s premier thought-leadership series designed to help figure out how to turn ideas into concrete actions has expanded its global footprint, laying the groundwork for major milestone campaign moments that took place throughout the year.
Global Citizen NOW: NYC Invested in the Next Generation
In April, Global Citizen NOW returned to New York City, bringing together 300 advocates, policymakers, artists, and changemakers to tackle the urgent question: “What does it mean to invest in the next generation?” Panels highlighted education, sustainability, and entrepreneurship, while performances by international artists like James Blake, Seu Jorge, and dancer Ingrid Silva showed how to blend art with advocacy.
The summit also showcased major announcements, including the official launch of the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, renewed support for vaccine equity, new Indigenous‑led conservation funding, and the launch of the Music Economic Development Initiative (MEDI Portal) to drive creative industries as engines for economic growth. The emerging generation of advocates and changemakers were represented by recipients of the Global Citizen Prize and the Cisco Youth Leadership Award, recognizing their work on climate, equity, and human rights. The event turned dialogue into action, reinforcing the power of cross-sector collaboration to build a better world for all.
Global Citizen NOW: Sevilla Looked at the Future of Global Finance
A month later, Global Citizen NOW went to Europe for the first time and convened in Sevilla, Spain alongside the UN’s Financing for Development week, bringing global leaders and advocates together to explore how global financial systems need to see major future reforms to fund inclusive climate solutions and sustainable development. A highlight at the summit was the announcement of TransEnergy Global’s Project Mzansi, the purchase of an operating coal plant that will leave 118 million tons of coal in the ground in Limpopo for at least 100 years, preventing 236 million tons of CO₂ emissions through the innovative use of carbon credit. The summit underscored how new ways of imagining finance can drive forward climate action, promote energy equity, and deliver lasting benefits for people and the planet.
Global Citizen NOW: Detroit Explored the Future of Sustainable Cities
In July, Global Citizen NOW hit Detroit — the summit’s first US edition outside New York — bringing together business leaders, policymakers, community organizations, students, and artists at the new Hudson’s Detroit to explore approaches to building sustainable, inclusive cities that support long-term economic and social growth. Among the major announcements were the launch of the Detroit Access to Capital Initiative by startup platform Mona, pledging over $1 million to support local entrepreneurs through expanded access to affordable capital in 2025 and the launch of the Small Business Impact Awards in partnership with PayPal, offering grants and business consulting to entrepreneurs contributing to positive economic and community outcomes.
Global Citizen NOW: Amazônia Issued an Urgent Call to Protect the Forest
That same month, Global Citizen NOW: Amazônia convened leaders from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Indigenous nations, youth advocates, scientists, and investors for a day of action to accelerate protection of the Amazon Basin. As the mid‑point of our Protect the Amazon campaign, the summit helped build momentum toward its $1 billion investment target, with major on‑stage commitments including plans to preserve 3.5 million trees, engage 2,500 youth across the region in climate education, and unlock funding for Indigenous‑led projects and Amazonian entrepreneurs.
Impact Week: Singapore
Global Citizen also headed to Southeast Asia for the first time ever with Impact Week 2025 in Singapore, bringing together Global Citizen’s approach to culture, policy, and civic engagement. . In partnership with TPC (Tsao Pao Chee) and the NO.17 Foundation, Global Citizen x Impact Week Sessions ran alongside the Well-being Economic Conference & Festival. Across two dynamic sessions, influential leaders from government, business, philanthropy, and civil society came together to explore new approaches to economic opportunity and sustainable development. The week culminated with Global Citizen Nights: Singapore, an inspiring evening of music and storytelling featuring performances by RRILEY, Galdive, and Jinan Laetitia, celebrating local changemakers driving meaningful impact in their communities.
Global Citizen NOW: Impact Sessions Brought Major Commitments During UNGA Week
In the week leading up to September’s Global Citizen Festival, Global Citizen NOW: Impact Sessions took place alongside the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Over 200 leaders from government, business, philanthropy, and civil society, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Sierra Leonean President H.E. Julius Maada Bio, Former Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Surinamese President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and many more came together to discuss some of the world’s most pressing challenges. This gathering brought major announcements and pledges designed to accelerate concrete action and focused on three bold campaigns: Protect the Amazon, Scaling Up Renewables in Africa, and the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, turning big ideas into real commitments.
Global Citizen NOW: Johannesburg Advanced Progress on Clean Energy Access Across Africa
In November, Global Citizen NOW: Johannesburg — the first-ever NOW summit held on the African continent — marked the culmination of the 12-month Scaling Up Renewables in Africa (SURA) campaign. The summit gathered governments, investors, civil society organizations and global citizens around a shared goal: to expand access to clean, renewable energy across Africa. By the end of the day, the summit secured breakthrough pledges that will help deliver 26.8 gigawatts of renewable energy and bring electricity to over 17.5 million homes by 2030 — a significant step toward expanding Africa’s renewable energy capacity and supporting long-term sustainable development.
Looking Ahead
What global citizens achieved in 2025 proves a simple truth: progress happens when people in mass act together. Across borders and sectors, collective pressure translated into real commitments, real resources, and real momentum for change.
As we look ahead, this work is far from finished. The energy sparked this year is already carrying forward into the next chapter, encouraging leaders to move faster, aim higher, and deliver policies to match the scale of the challenges the world faces. With global citizens around the world continuing to raise their voices, the year ahead holds the potential to deliver even greater impact.