Rio de Janeiro will take on a new kind of spotlight this June.
As part of the inaugural Rio Nature and Climate Week, Global Citizen is returning to Brazil with two events that connect decision-making at the highest level with action from people around the world: Global Citizen NOW: Rio de Janeiro and Global Citizen Live: Rio de Janeiro.
Over the course of one week, conversations that shape policy will sit alongside a public moment designed to draw in thousands of people. The aim is straightforward: bring together those with the power to make commitments and those ready to push for them.
Global Citizen NOW: Rio de Janeiro will take place on Thursday, June 4, at Casa Firjan in Botafogo. Two days later, on Saturday, June 6, Global Citizen Live: Rio de Janeiro will close the week with a free concert on Ipanema Beach.
Together, the events reflect a model Global Citizen has been building over time, linking leadership with participation so that progress is not confined to one room.
Where Priorities Take Shape
Global Citizen NOW: Rio de Janeiro is designed as a working summit rather than a talking forum.
The focus is on a set of issues that continue to shape both local and global realities: access to clean energy, children’s education, job opportunities, food security, and global health.
Leaders from across sectors will take part in the summit, including José Manuel Durão Barroso, Professor at Univ Católica Portuguesa and Former President of the European Commission; Marcelo Thomé, President of the Amazonia+21 Institute and FAIS; Jessi Alves, Biologist and ESG Specialist; Allyne Andrade, Deputy Executive Director of the Brazil Human Rights Fund; Luiz Césio Caetano, President of FIRJAN; Ana Fontes, Founder and President of the Women Entrepreneurs Network; Oskar Metsavaht, Creative Director of Osklen and President of Instituto-E; Marcele Oliveira, COP30 Presidency Youth Climate Champion; Roberto Rossi, President of Schneider Electric Brazil; Mirela Sandrini, Executive Director of WRI Brazil; Samela Sateré Mawé, Biologist, Artisan, Indigenous Communicator, and Climate and Indigenous Rights Activist; and Diego Scotti, Member of the Board of Directors at Global Citizen.
The event will also be co-hosted by Luiza Zveiter and Gabb.
What matters most is what happens around and beyond the stage. The summit creates space for commitments to be made and partnerships to form, with the expectation that these translate into concrete outcomes in the months that follow.
The setting matters too. Rio Nature and Climate Week — hosted by Instituto Natureza e Clima Brasil, the City of Rio de Janeiro, Re:Wild, and Global Citizen — brings together dozens of independently hosted sessions across the city, alongside a central program led by its organizers.
This creates a broader environment where ideas are tested, refined, and connected to the people and institutions that can take them further.
Opening the Moment to Everyone
On Saturday, that focus shifts outward. Global Citizen Live: Rio de Janeiro takes the week's themes and places them in an open, visible, and shared setting. Held on Ipanema Beach and hosted by Giovanna Ewbank and Bruno Gagliasso, the event brings together music and public participation, inviting people to be part of what comes next.
The lineup will feature Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Fugees’ landmark album The Score, alongside special guests YG Marley and Zion Marley. The event will also be co-headlined by Ludmilla, one of Latin America’s most influential artists.
Attendance is free, but it is not passive. Tickets are earned by taking action through the Global Citizen app or via WhatsApp +55 (11) 4040-7099 on issues such as education, food security, clean energy, job opportunities, and global health.
Tickets can also be earned through volunteer opportunities in Rio. On May 23, Global Citizen will co-host a beach cleanup with Instituto Boas Ondas at Praia da Barra, followed by “Game for Climate” on June 1 in partnership with Onda Solidária, using football to engage young people in climate education and sustainability.
That connection between action and access is intentional. It reflects the idea that participation should be more than symbolic and that collective pressure can help shape outcomes.
Throughout the night, the event will also highlight new commitments aligned with Global Citizen’s campaign goals, linking what happens on stage to decisions being made elsewhere.
Why This Moment Matters
These events come at a time when progress on climate and development is uneven. Funding is tightening in many places, and coordination across countries has become more complex. At the same time, the impacts of climate change continue to be felt more sharply, particularly in regions that have contributed the least to the problem.
Yet another trajectory is taking shape.
Across the Global South, communities and innovators are already advancing solutions tied to clean energy, food systems, education, and environmental protection. A major focus of Rio Nature and Climate Week is connecting those efforts with the partnerships and investment needed to scale them further.
What is often missing is the scale. Investment, visibility, and sustained partnerships are needed to take what is working and expand it.
Rio Nature and Climate Week provides a platform for that shift. It brings together a wide range of actors, from policymakers to community leaders, in a setting that encourages both alignment and accountability.
Global Citizen’s role in this is to connect those efforts to a broader public, ensuring that momentum does not remain confined to closed spaces.
Building on Recent Progress
This return to Brazil builds on recent work that has already brought together large-scale participation and tangible outcomes.
In 2025, the Protect the Amazon campaign resulted in $1 billion in commitments to protect the rainforest and support the communities who depend on it.
It also mobilized more than 4.4 million individual actions, contributing to efforts to protect, restore, and rewild 31 million hectares of land and impacting 18 million lives.
That campaign concluded with the Global Citizen Festival: Amazônia, the organization’s first music event in Latin America.
The events in Rio build directly on that experience, expanding both the scale and the scope of engagement.
Participation as a Driver of Progress
A central aim across both Global Citizen NOW and Global Citizen Live: Rio de Janeiro is to translate attention into action.
The goal is to drive actions connected to key issues such as education, energy access, food systems, job opportunities, and health. Actions tied to the event will also support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a global initiative working to raise $100 million to expand access to quality education and football for children worldwide.
Each action represents a way for individuals to signal priorities and apply pressure where it matters.
While a single action may seem small, the cumulative effect can influence decision-making, particularly when it is visible and sustained.
This approach reflects a broader understanding that progress is shaped by both leadership and public engagement.
A Shared Effort
“We’re proud to bring Global Citizen back to Brazil — this time as part of the inaugural Rio Nature and Climate Week,” said Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy Officer, Global Citizen. “At the heart of our work is a simple idea: when communities have real access to opportunity, they are best placed to protect their environment and shape their own future. Through Global Citizen NOW: Rio de Janeiro and Global Citizen Live: Rio de Janeiro, we’re driving action and policy change that delivers exactly that, whether it’s access to education, jobs, clean energy, immunizations, or nutritious food. Last time we were in Brazil, our community took record-breaking action. Let’s raise the bar once again.”
That perspective underlines what these events are trying to achieve.
They are not separate moments, but part of the same process. One brings people together to define priorities and commitments. The other opens that process up, inviting more people to take part and help carry it forward.
In a week that will bring together ideas, decisions, and public engagement, Rio becomes a place where different parts of the same effort meet.
The events are presented in partnership with the City of Rio, Rio Nature & Climate Week, and Re:Wild, alongside support from organizations including Amazonia+21, MetLife, Open Society Foundations, and Pele Energy Group.