One Direction has officially teamed up with Global Citizens Tickets in order to promote social justice and activism. Global Citizens Tickets is a part of the larger Global Citizens movement. The movement is a tool to try to unite the upcoming generation, and to inspire them to enact social change, and moreover, to end extreme poverty around the globe. 1.3 billion people in the world are kept from realizing their proper human rights. A world without equality for all humanity is one that is unjust and Global Citizens, and the Global Citizens Tickets program, wishes to change this. Although much success has been accomplished on this front recently, there is more work to do. Global Citizens is a means to learn about the issues surrounding global poverty, as well as different ways individuals can help.
Global Citizens Tickets is an off-shoot of this central idea. Individuals have to sign up for the website, and then proceed to take action on issues within Global Citizen. Depending on what action they take, they will earn a certain number of points. From those points, they can enter contests to try to win rewards. For instance, one of the prizes to be won are tickets to sold-out One Direction concerts. Other artists who have teamed up with Global Citizens Tickets include Beyonce, Black Sabbath, Bruno Mars, and the Dixie Chicks, among many more. For updates on the artists included, keep an eye on Global Citizens’ Twitter page.
The Global Citizens Tickets initiative is also related to the Global Poverty Project, or GPP. The Global Poverty Project has a vision to live in a poverty-free world. Based on the current evidence of the progress made for this goal, it is not as far-fetched as it may originally sound. Indeed, global poverty has been halved over the past several decades. The injustices faced by those living in poverty can be resolved within a single generation if that generation has enough committed activists within it. Other initiatives that were backed by the Global Poverty Project include “1.4 Billion Reasons,” a multimedia presentation given around the world to introduce the issues of poverty to the world and ways to resolve them, and “Live Below the Line” – a campaign where participants choose to live in extreme poverty for a week, which engaged over 24,000 people this year, and raised over $5 million for the cause.
Overall, Global Citizens Tickets is a simple concept that will hopefully encourage thousands of youth, or people of all ages, to volunteer their time. The concept itself is non-partisan and merely focuses on resolving the issues without any other political agenda. The volunteers will participate in activities that are socially driven. Some of these activities include, but are not limited to, signing petitions or calling representatives. In return, their work will be rewarded with chances to attend some concerts of the most popular musicians of the day, such as One Direction, which are often at sold-out venues. Some of the causes that Global Citizens Tickets supports are ending global poverty, strengthening female empowerment, and enforcing global education.
One Direction commented that they were excited to be a part of this initiative, and that it was “a brilliant way to reward fantastic volunteers.” In addition, they said they could not wait to see some global citizens at their concerts.
To sign up for Global Citizens Tickets, follow this link.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: Global Citizen, Billboard, That Grape Juice
Photo: Music Times