The Global Citizen Festival managed to move people beyond just busting a move.
The concert featuring the Black Keys, Foo Fighters, Neil Young and others last week in Central Park raised $1.3 billion in commitments to end poverty.
In addition to being a great party on the Great Lawn, the movement went beyond simply awareness and social media action to concrete solutions to fight poverty. Festival founder Hugh Evans writes in his HuffPost blog:
"Fighting extreme poverty is a complex and messy process, and it's going to take a lot more than just signing a petition to end it."
The festival galvanized organizations to make noteworthy commitments including $500 million for children's health from UNICEF, $167.5 million for women's empowerment from The Half the Sky Movement and $100 million for clean water from charity:water.
The concert united partners tackling the Millennium Development Goals, sharing commitments with the 60,000 concert attendees.
The Global Poverty Project, which sponsored the festival, will meet with each NGO after six months to asses progress in meeting commitments, according to the site. The site will host updates of progress being made.
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