Bono, the lead singer of U2, uses his celebrity to fight for social justice worldwide: to end hunger, poverty and disease, especially in Africa. His nonprofit ONE raises awareness via media, policy and calls to action.
Why you should listen to him:
It is an extraordinary fact that the lead singer with the world's biggest rock band is also our generation's most persuasive champion of the downtrodden. Irreverent, funny, iconoclastic and relentless, Bono has become stunningly effective in bringing the world's most powerful leaders to take seriously the problems of AIDS and African poverty.
After U2's historic Live Aid performance in 1985, Bono traveled to Ethiopia with his wife, Ali. There they spent several weeks helping with a famine relief project. The experience shocked him and ignited a determination to work for change. In Bono's own words: "What are the blind spots of our age? It might be something as simple as our deep-down refusal to believe that every human life has equal worth." In 2005, Bono became one of the inaugural winners of the TED Prize; he used his wish to raise awareness and inspire activism for Africa. In 2007, he accepted an honorary British knighthood for his work.
In 2002, he co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa). In 2004, DATA helped to create ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, an advocacy and campaigning organization dedicated to fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease. In early 2008, DATA and ONE combined operations under the name ONE. As part of his work with ONE, Bono has lobbied U.S. Presidents and Congressional leaders, along with the heads of many other G8 nations.
In 2006, Bono and Bobby Shriver launched Product (RED) to raise money from businesses to buy AIDS drugs for people in Africa unable to afford them. Product (RED) has an ongoing relationship with a number of iconic global brands that sell (RED) products and donate a percentage of the profits directly to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Bono also helped launch EDUN, an ethically-sourced high fashion clothing company run by his wife Ali Hewson; EDUN produces clothing in developing areas of the world, particularly in Africa.
"Bono always makes his visits [to Africa] substantive, using the accompanying media to educate the wider world about the plight of the poor in less developed countries."Philadelphia Inquirer
