Global Citizen NOW Returns to New York to Drive Urgent Action on Education, Energy, and Global Health
Impact Summit to Drive Action on Education, Food Security, Energy, and Global Health to End Extreme Poverty Takes Place on May 14
Global Citizen NOW, the impact summit to end extreme poverty, returns to New York City for its fifth year on Thursday, May 14. This year, leaders in government, policy, advocacy, business, entertainment, and philanthropy will convene at Spring Studios to deliver the fundamentals on education, food security, energy, and global health.
Participants in Global Citizen NOW include: Adam Lambert, Artist, Actor, Global Citizen Ambassador; Ayra Starr, Artist and Advocate; Common, Award-Winning Artist, Activist, Global Citizen Ambassador; Gianni Infantino, FIFA President; Hugh Jackman, Global Citizen Ambassador; Jamie Salter, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Authentic Brands Group; Kat Graham, Actress, Singer, Humanitarian; Liza Koshy, Actor, Activist, Global Citizen Advocate; Marcus Samuelsson, Award-Winning Chef, Restaurateur, Author, Activist; Mark Tinkess, President, RVCA; Nir Bar Dea, CEO, Bridgewater Associates; Rachel Brosnahan, Actress, Producer, Global Citizen Ambassador; Tom Taylor, CEO, Bezos Earth Fund; and Zoisa North-Bond, CEO, Octopus Energy Generation. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; and Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain will join the summit through live, virtual conversations.
Hosted by Global Citizen, the world’s largest movement to end extreme poverty, the 2026 edition of Global Citizen NOW will drive action to expand access to education through the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, improve food security and economic opportunity, expand access to electricity and cut emissions, and address global health and nutrition for the world’s underserved communities. The program is set to include major announcements on Global Citizen’s upcoming campaigns, intimate conversations with industry titans, the Global Citizen Prize awards, and more.
“The scale of the challenges facing our world can feel overwhelming, but inaction is simply not an option. There is something each and every one of us—from governments and businesses to foundations and artists—can do to help end extreme poverty, and that’s what Global Citizen NOW is all about,” said Hugh Evans, Co-Founder & CEO, Global Citizen. “Global Citizen NOW is not another conference where leaders gather to talk about problems. It’s where leaders come to announce solutions and take action. By bringing together governments, businesses, philanthropists, and artists, we mobilize real commitments in real time to help end extreme poverty."
“Culture can be a catalytic tool to inspire change, and it’s an honor to stand with an international movement that recognizes the collective power of dreams and purpose,” said Common, Global Citizen Ambassador. “I’ve long advocated for education and justice, knowing them to be critical pathways that hold the power to transform life outcomes. This spring, I look forward to taking the Global Citizen NOW stage alongside changemakers across activism, business, policy, philanthropy, and the arts to drive real, lasting impact in communities at home and around the world.”
Additional participants in this year's Global Citizen NOW summit include: Alok Sharma, President, COP26; Diego Scotti, General Manager, Consumer Group, PayPal; Erna Solberg, Former Prime Minister of Norway; Fran Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, Cisco; Kevin Rudd, President & CEO, Asia Society and Former Prime Minister of Australia; Leo Varadkar, Former Taoiseach of Ireland; Michael Roberts, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, MetLife; Raj Kumar, CEO & Founder, Devex; Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer, Forbes; and Vladimir Duthiers, Featured Co-Host of CBS Mornings & Anchor for CBS News 24/7.
During the summit, the Global Citizen Prize and Cisco Youth Leadership Award will be presented to honor young leaders from around the world making extraordinary efforts to impact their communities. The Prize will honor four young people who are taking action to end extreme poverty by tackling issues in this year’s four policy focus areas.
Global Citizen NOW is supported by major partners Authentic Brands Group, Bridgewater Associates, Cisco, Delta Air Lines, IHC, MetLife, PayPal, and P&G.
This year’s Global Citizen NOW summit builds on the event’s expanding global footprint. In 2025, the summit was held in Detroit, United States; Sevilla, Spain; Belém, Brazil; and Johannesburg, South Africa. The series will continue to grow internationally to new cities in 2026, delivering action to end extreme poverty.
Additional details will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information visit globalcitizen.org/now/nyc.
About Global Citizen
Global Citizen is the world’s largest movement to end extreme poverty. Powered by a worldwide community of everyday advocates raising their voices and taking action, the movement is amplified by campaigns and events that convene leaders in music, entertainment, public policy, media, philanthropy and the private sector. Since the movement began, more than $50 billion in commitments announced on Global Citizen platforms has been deployed, impacting 1.3 billion lives. Established in Australia in 2008, Global Citizen operates in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, the UAE, and across Asia. Join the movement at globalcitizen.org, download the Global Citizen app, and follow Global Citizen on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.