By Emily Scott
Business Editor

A crowd of over 60,000 piled onto the Great Lawn in Central Park this Saturday for the second annual Global Citizen Festival.
It was a perfect September day for an outdoor concert; there was a unique crowd containing ages young to old. The concert featuring John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Kings of Leon, and Stevie Wonder to close the show.
The Global Citizen is a unique foundation that is based online and awards points for activist action. The points are tracked and the accumulated points are used to bid on entertainment events, such as concerts.
To obtain the points, certain actions must be taken to help promote change. Social media information-sharing is one of the more popular choices.
This year’s theme was divided into four parts: health, women’s equality and global partnership. Including this year’s entertainment, well- respected celebrities attended and spoke at this year’s festival as well. Katie Holmes, Gerard Butler, and Bono were among the special guests to help excite the crowd and speak about the organization.
Global Citizen is an innovative tool to unite this generation into social justice. The main task of their foundation is to bring an end to extreme poverty by 2030. “Global Citizens know that a world that deprives 1.3 billion people of their basic rights and opportunities is unjust and unacceptable,” according to the Global Citizen website.
Making a difference begins with this generation. “All of the actions we take influence today’s society. We just have to be ready to step up to the plate,” Senior Emily Tolnay said, who attended the concert.
Each of the musicians had something vital to say about what this generation can do to promote change.
“I may be a rock star, but Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is a rock star for the world!” Stevie Wonder said about United Nations Secretary General. It made the crowd roar with excitement.
Everyone has the chance to write their own story in changing the world and Global Citizen gives this generation an easy way to make a difference.