Welcome to Sentivia

Alright, let me tell you a bit about myself. I'm someone who's deeply committed to the idea of global citizenship. You could say I'm an activist, a dreamer, and maybe a bit of a pain in the neck because I’ve always been the kid asking "why?". My name is Hugh Evans, and I've dedicated a significant part of my life to mobilizing people to act on global issues.

Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, I was one of those kids who just couldn't stop asking questions. "Why can't I dress up and play with puppets all day?", or "Why do we have to keep throwing shrimps on the barbie?", those kinds of annoying things. It wasn’t just curiosity, it was a genuine desire to understand how the world worked. I believed, even back then, that I could play a part in making it better. When I was twelve, I got involved in fundraising for communities in developing countries and we were wildly successful. This led me on a trip to the Philippines. I never expected what I was about to experience.

My trip to Manila, that’s what really shaped my understanding of the world. I met a kid named Sonny Boy, who lived on this place called Smoky Mountain, a literal mountain of garbage. There were families living there, rummaging through the rubbish for anything they could find. I spent a night with his family, sleeping on a concrete slab, and it just hit me – how can anyone be forced to live like this when I had so much? Why should where you were born determine the opportunities you get? That night changed everything for me.

I realized that poverty and inequality weren't just bad luck; they were the result of systemic issues, bad decisions and inaction. Colonial powers and corrupt governments made decisions that had devastating consequences for people like Sonny Boy. I realized that throwing money at the problem wasn’t going to fix it, we needed to go deeper. Over the next few years, while working on community development, I learned that true change had to come from within these communities, and that while charity was important, it was not the entire solution. I started to understand that global challenges needed global solutions.

That's why, after working in community development, I joined the 'Make Poverty History' campaign in Australia. We were just hoping to stage a small concert with a few Aussie artists around the time of the G20, and suddenly, we got a call from Bono, the Edge, and Pearl Jam. They wanted to headline it! It was insane. And the craziest part of all this? Our government actually listened. They doubled their investment into global health and development, injecting over 6 billion dollars. It was an incredible validation of people power but it didn't last, the government changed and the money was gone. We realized that one-off spikes in action weren’t enough, we needed a sustained movement, something that wasn’t at the whim of a politician or an economic downturn.

This led us to co-found Global Citizen in 2012, a movement focused on turning short-term excitement into long-term passion by making global citizenship a part of one’s identity. It's not just about feeling good; it’s about taking action. Research showed us that while many people care about global issues, only a small percentage actually *do* something. So, we set out to recruit and activate millions, to give people the tools and the motivation to make a difference. To create a global citizen army to put pressure on their leaders to do the right thing.

We use music as a universal language to connect with people through the Global Citizen Festival. We host it in New York City during the UN General Assembly meetings, where leaders have to hear us. The tickets aren’t available for purchase, you had to earn them by taking action on global causes. Activism is the currency here, we need to see action from citizens. It worked! We’ve signed up millions around the world, and are still adding new members every single week.

Global citizens aren’t created from nothing; they're everywhere, waiting to be mobilized. That’s where people like Davinia come in. You're going to love her; she's extraordinary. She’s a woman who emigrated from Jamaica and is just living her life, but she's having a huge impact by spending her time thinking about others all over the world. A few years ago, she asked her Facebook friends to donate their pennies to fund girls' education. She didn’t expect much, but 700,000 pennies later, she’s sent over 120 girls to school. She's this incredible global citizen who has this amazing impact. People like Davinia have helped persuade governments and organizations to double their investment into global education and water, and sanitation, even convince countries to end Polio and support the rights of women.

But, here's the thing – this work is not done. We still face massive challenges. Some leaders believe that, "All politics is local," and that they only need to focus on domestic issues. But the world doesn't work that way anymore. Climate change, poverty, these things don't respect borders. The problems in one part of the world affect everyone and those leaders who refuse to see this are just being short-sighted and frankly, dangerous.

Global citizenship, on the other hand, is the way forward. It's about understanding that we're all connected, that our actions have consequences, and that we have a responsibility to do what we can to create a more just world. We now live in a world that favors the global citizen; there are more ways to be heard and influence the world than ever before, thanks to social media, and the internet, and that gives us an incredible opportunity to make a difference, to finally solve the big challenges that we are all facing. It's not going to be easy, but we must make it happen.