AY Young announced a new commitment to advancing clean energy at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 Annual Meeting.

A singer, songwriter, United Nations Youth Leader, and entrepreneur, AY Young is powering a movement with his upcoming album Project17, a Battery Tour initiative. With partners including the United Nations, Samsung USA, and General Motors, each song on Project17 is dedicated to one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) with all profits to be awarded to organizations pushing the SDGs forward.

AY’s commitment centers on SDG 7, affordable and clean energy. Around the world, as international public financing for clean energy for developing countries continues to decline, 675 million people still live in the dark. AY is directing crucial capital for an equitable global energy transition.

On stage at the CGI annual meeting, AY will announce his world record-breaking commitment to power 1,000 concerts entirely with clean energy, with aspirations to play his 1,000th show at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Arena on Earth Day 2025. He shut down Times Square for his 958th battery powered show on the #roadto1000 at Climate Week NYC.

“I was raised by a family of changemakers who used their platform to drive forward a better future,” says AY Young. “I’m blessed to continue that legacy and partner with the Clinton Global Initiative to use music to power global impact.”

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Founded by President Bill Clinton in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative is a community of doers representing a broad cross section of society and dedicated to the idea that we can accomplish more together than we can apart. Through CGI’s unique model, more than 10,000 organizations have launched more than 4,000 Commitments to Action — new, specific, and measurable projects and programs – that are making a difference in the lives of more than 500 million people in 180 countries.

About The Battery Tour
Founded by artist AY Young, The Battery Tour is a revolutionary concert series powered entirely by renewable energy. This grassroots initiative harnesses the universal language of music to drive social and environmental change, illuminating stages across the globe with energy sourced from solar panels and batteries.

Media Contact:
Daria Richman
383645@email4pr.com
646-527-2263

SOURCE AY Young

The post AY Young Makes Commitment with Clinton Global Initiative, Using Music to Accelerate the United Nations’ Goal of Affordable, Clean Energy Around the Globe appeared first on Good News!.

A New Documentary

THE EMOTIONAL JOURNEY OF HOW A FAMILY

TURNED THE CHALLENGES OF THEIR TEENAGE SON’S RARE DISEASE INTO A MISSION FOR RAISING AWARENESS

Clinton Moore – a devoted father and tireless advocate for his son, who lives with a rare disease called cystinosis – is on a mission to help bring awareness to the condition that has affected his son’s life and impacted his family to its core.

In a new documentary that recently premiered, Moore describes when his son was first diagnosed with cystinosis, and how difficult it was to accept the doctor’s conclusion. A rare disease diagnosis wasn’t the answer he wanted, but he soon came to understand it.

Cystinosis is a rare genetic disease that results in an abnormal accumulation of the amino acid cystine in various organs and tissues of the body such as the kidneys, eyes, muscles, pancreas and brain. Symptoms usually appear early in a child’s first year of life, and it’s a lifelong disease. Cystine accumulation can lead to kidney failure, muscle wasting, swallowing difficulty, diabetes, and hypothyroidism, among other issues. Without treatment, children with cystinosis will usually develop end stage kidney failure or die prematurely.

Moore says since cystinosis never stops, so neither does he. In the film, he explains that giving up hope means you’ve completely given up, so he won’t allow that to happen. In a heartwarming moment in the film, Moore explains how amazed he is that his son has chosen to be as happy as he is each day, considering all his challenges. Part of his son’s daily routine includes a regimen of dozens of pills and eye drops every waking hour.

Moore has been doing all he can to bring attention to the disease. In the documentary, Moore can be seen completing a 57-mile walk within 24 hours, dedicated to bringing awareness and support to the cystinosis community.

He believes more awareness about the disease is crucial in helping to raise money for research and he won’t stop doing all he can until a cure is found. Moore’s passion has moved him from being a parent on the sideline not thinking he could make a difference, to the president of the Cystinosis research Network (CRN) the longest standing active non-profit supporting cystinosis families worldwide.

One in 10 Americans are affected by a rare disease, so it’s important to bring attention to the issues surrounding them. Also noteworthy is the fact that many treatments developed for rare diseases have been repurposed, which is the identification and application of already approved drugs to treat new diseases.

Clinton Moore, patient advocate and CRN president, will be available to talk about the documentary, the organization CRN, the disease and how to support those afflicted with the cystinosis.

The post Rare Disease Documentary – Goodnewsplanet.com – appeared first on Good News!.

This conference was the birth of The Beijing Platform for Action, the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights. Our founders were in Beijing 25 years ago, and every day since we’ve continued to call for the recognition of the fundamental human rights of women.

25 years later and gender equality is far from being realized. Every five years since 2000, Equality Now has highlighted explicitly sex discriminatory laws that need to be reformed in our Words & Deeds report.

Today we’re releasing our 5th Words & Deeds report and we need your help.

YOUR WORDS & DEEDS TO DO LIST:

Learn

Read the report

Learn more about the Beijing Platform for Action

Share

? Tweet your commitment to Words & Deeds

? Share Words & Deeds on Facebook

? Explore our social toolkit for other ways to share

Take Action

? In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the law says the husband is head of the household.

Call on the President to amend the family code to ensure equality in marriage.

? Section 103 of Tunisia’s Personal Status Code limits daughters’ inheritance rights and provides that any sons inherit twice as much as daughters.

Call on the President of Tunisia to ensure equality in inheritance law.

? In Russia, the labor law automatically bars women from being employed in 456 types of work.

Call on the President of Russia to ensure equality in the workplace.

? In Paraguay, the law prescribes a lower penalty, a fine, for sexual offences against adolescent girls between the ages of 14 – 16 than for rape of a child or a woman.

Call on the President of Paraguay to protect adolescent girls from sexual violence.

?Explore all the laws you can take action on

Your continued support allows us to make sure governments uphold their commitments they made to women 25 years ago. Thank you.

In solidarity,

Antonia Kirkland

Global Lead, Legal Equality & Access to Justice

Donate

The post Equality Now!! A Just World for Women -n- Girls appeared first on Good News!.

The post Thought for the Day… appeared first on Good News!.

for more info, go to www.winfound.org

The post When in Need Foundation, Godwin Nwoga, Video and Podcast are Here… appeared first on Good News!.

Meeting will convene more than 1,000 global leaders September 23-25 in New York City to address the theme ‘Designing for Impact’

Featured participants include His Majesty King Juan Carlos I, Kingdom of Spain; Joyce Banda, president of the Republic of Malawi; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of the Republic of Liberia; Salva Kiir Mayardit, president of the Republic of South Sudan; Porfirio Lobo Sosa, president of the Republic of Honduras; Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group; Hillary Rodham Clinton, secretary of state, U.S. Department of State; Rajiv Shah, administrator of United States Agency for International Development; Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of BRAC; Madeleine Albright, chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group; Walter A. Bell, chairman of the board at Swiss Re America Holding Corp; Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom; Tim Brown, president and CEO of IDEO; John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco; Chelsea Clinton, board member of the William J. Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative; Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; Elizabeth Littlefield, president and CEO of Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children; Denis O’Brien, chairman of Digicel Group; Sally Osberg, president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation; Clarence Otis, Jr., chairman and CEO of Darden Restaurants, Inc.; Jim Rogers, chairman, president, and CEO of Duke Energy Corporation; Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods Inc.; Robert E. Rubin, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, former secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Luis A. Ubiñas, president of The Ford Foundation; Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson; and Daniel Yohannes, chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

NEW YORK – Today, President Bill Clinton announced the program for the eighth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to be held September 23-25 in New York City. This year’s gathering will bring together more than 1,000 CGI members and participants, including current and former heads of state, Fortune 500 CEOs, leaders from the nonprofit sector, and celebrities, to devise and implement high-impact solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

This year marks the first time that CGI will organize its largest meeting around a single theme. The 2012 Annual Meeting’s program, “Designing for Impact,” will explore how leaders can extend design thinking, often tied to startups and market-based solutions, from the private realm to accelerate positive outcomes for individuals’ lives, their environments, and their systems of government, commerce, and consumption.

“This year, our Annual Meeting will help CGI members design solutions to critical challenges such as empowering girls and women to be full participants in the global economy, encouraging the private sector to create markets for the under-served, and increasing the sustainability of our food supply as global demand doubles within the next 50 years,” said President Clinton. “We redesigned the meeting this year to optimize the creative spirit and remarkable dedication of our members, who, since 2005, have made more than 2,100 commitments that are impacting nearly 400 million lives in more than 180 countries. I look forward to the solutions and commitments that will emerge from the CGI community at this year’s meeting.”

Featured participants at the 2012 CGI Annual Meeting will include Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of BRAC; His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco; Madeleine Albright, chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group; Joyce Banda, president of the Republic of Malawi; Walter A. Bell, chairman of the board at Swiss Re America Holding Corp; Seth Berkley, chief executive officer of the GAVI Alliance; Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom; Tim Brown, president and CEO of IDEO; His Majesty King Juan Carlos I, Kingdom of Spain; John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco; Jason Clay, senior vice president of market transformation at the World Wildlife Fund; Chelsea Clinton, board member of the William J. Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative; Hillary Rodham Clinton, secretary of state, U.S.  Department of State; Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme; David Crane, president and CEO of NRG Energy, Inc.; Salma Samar Damluji, chief architect at Daw‘an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation; Mallika Dutt, president and CEO of Breakthrough; Jay S. Fishman, chairman and CEO of the Travelers Companies, Inc.; Anne H. Hastings, chief executive officer of Fonkoze Financial Services; Carlos Slim Helú, founder of Fundación Carlos Slim; Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; José Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States; Robert Ivy, executive vice president and CEO of the American Institute of Architects; Antony Jenkins, chief executive officer of retail and business banking at Barclays PLC; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of the Republic of Liberia;  Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group; Klaus Kleinfeld, chairman and CEO of Alcoa Inc.; Kay Krill, president and CEO of ANN INC.; Nicholas D. Kristof, columnist at the New York Times; Sasha Kramer, co-founder and executive director of Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL); Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author, journalist, and deputy director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program Council on Foreign Relations; Elizabeth Littlefield, president and CEO of Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Salva Kiir Mayardit, president of the Republic of South Sudan; Molly Melching, founder and executive director of Tostan; António Mexia, chief executive officer, EDP – Energias de Portugal, S.A.; Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children; Luis Alberto Moreno, president of Inter-American Development Bank; Jayaseelan Naidoo, chairman of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Reema Nanavaty, director of economic and rural development at Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA);  Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, Inc.; Denis O’Brien, chairman of Digicel Group; Sally Osberg, president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation; Clarence Otis, Jr., chairman and CEO of Darden Restaurants, Inc.; Stephan Ouaknine, chairman, managing partner, and CEO of Inerjys Ventures Inc.; Johanna Ralston, chief executive officer of the World Heart Federation; Navinchandra Ramgoolam, prime minister of the Republic of Mauritius;  Jim Rogers, chairman, president, and CEO of Duke Energy Corporation; Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods Inc.; Robert E. Rubin, co-chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, former secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Kiran Sethi, founder and director of the Riverside School, Ahmedabad – India; Luis A. Ubiñas, president of The Ford Foundation; Rajiv Shah, Administrator of United States Agency for International Development; Porfirio Lobo Sosa, president of the Republic of Honduras; Lynn Stout, distinguished professor of corporate and business law at Cornell University Law School; Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson; Daniel Yohannes, chief executive officer of Millennium Challenge Corporation; Kandeh Yumkella, director general of the United Nations Development Organization; and Jochen Zeitz, chairman of the management board and CEO of PUMA AG Rudolf Dassler Sport.

Each of the three days of the 2012 Meeting will explore how CGI members can create solutions that make the maximum positive impact on people and their communities. The world’s leading innovators in technology, business, public health, and other sectors will discuss the philanthropic potential of strategic design in sessions such as:

• Designing for Impact, which will address inventive ways for people and organizations to strengthen the prosperity and sustainability of our increasingly crowded planet. 
• Women and the Built Environment: Designing for Opportunity, which will examine how the inclusion of women in urban planning leads to improved economic, environmental, and public health prospects for everyone. 
• The Early Years: An Irresistible Investment Opportunity, which will highlight how companies and governments can support the delivery of early childhood interventions that increase a country’s GDP, reduce long-term social costs, and help children thrive. 
• The Future of Food, which will explore ways CGI members can advance a new vision for sustainable food production and consumption in the face of soaring demand. 
• Working Capital: Creating Value for Business and Society, which will focus on how private organizations can serve as economic drivers without prospering at the expense of the societies and environments in which they work.

International leaders and experts will also offer guidance in special sessions, such as The Case for Optimism in the 21st Century, which will explain why despite the recent financial crisis, optimism still makes sense, and Strategic Philanthropy: How to Think Bigger and Do Better, a panel on how corporate and philanthropic organizations can maximize the results of their giving.

New features at this year’s meeting include interactive Commitment Workshops and Design Labs that will allow members to share knowledge, build partnerships, and generate Commitments to Action: new, specific and measurable plans that address a pressing global challenge.

The Commitment Workshop session topics include:

• Influencing Behavior and Attitudes
• Integrating Social and Environmental Value into Core Business
• Financing for Impact and Scale
• Haiti: Lessons for the Future
• Integrating Women into Global Supply Chains

In Design Labs, members will collectively brainstorm answers to pressing questions, such as:

• How can we provide reliable and safe energy to those in need?
• How can we advance women-owned businesses in the developing world?
• How can we design healthier urban environments that help prevent chronic diseases?
• How can we ensure more children benefit from early childhood education?
• How can we protect the poorest from debilitating shocks, such as unforeseen illness or crop failure?

The full agenda for the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative can be found at clintonglobalinitiative.org/2012.

President Clinton will also present the sixth annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards in a special ceremony that includes celebrity guests and a live musical performance on Monday, September 24. The event recognizes remarkable individuals for their leadership in philanthropy, government, civil society, and the corporate sector.

The sponsors for the 2012 CGI Annual Meeting include: Abraaj Capital, American Federation of Teachers, Ambassador Gianna Angelopoulos, APCO Worldwide, Barclays, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cisco, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Delos Living, Deutsche Bank, Diageo PLC, The Dow Chemical Company, Duke Energy Corporation, ExxonMobil, The Ford Foundation, GEMS Education, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, Hewlett Packard Company, Inter-American Development Bank, Indo Gold Ltd, InterEnergy, Jive Software, Knoll Inc, Laureate International Universities, Microsoft Corporation, NRG Energy Inc, Procter & Gamble, The Rockefeller Foundation, Shangri-La Industries, Standard Chartered Bank, Starkey Hearing Foundation, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Tom Golisano, Toyota Motors Corporation, United Postcode Lotteries, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, and Western Union Financial Services Inc.

For more information, please visit clintonglobalinitiative.org/2012. Follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative for meeting news and highlights. The event hashtag is #CGI2012.

Press registration is now open to members of the media. To apply, please complete the form at: cgilink.org/PP392s.

ALL PRESS MUST BE CREDENTIALED BY THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE. All media must apply for credentials and must be approved by CGI in order to attend. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 21 at 5 p.m EST. Journalists may apply for credentials on-site, but pre-registered media will be given priority. If applying on-site, you MUST bring a press ID as well. For questions about press registration, contact Dana Moncrief in CGI’s Communications Department at dana.moncrief@clintonglobalinitiative.org.

Members of the press who have received email confirmation from CGI to attend the meeting are encouraged to pick up their credentials on Saturday, September 22 from 12 p.m to 9 p.m. EST at the press registration desk. Press must enter on 52nd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. To pick up your credential, a valid government-issued ID is required.

###

About the Clinton Global Initiative
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,100 commitments, which are already improving the lives of nearly 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $69.2 billion.

CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

The post President Clinton Announces Program for the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting appeared first on Good News!.