Through the Global Citizen platform, humanitarian Hugh Evans has created an online community of millions of people — all driven to eradicate extreme poverty by the year 2030.

Why you should listen

At 14, Hugh Evans spent the night in a Manila slum. The harsh realities of his hosts’ lives motivated Evans to challenge the status quo of extreme poverty. Following a trip to South Africa in 2002 as World Vision's inaugural Youth Ambassador, Evans worked on the Make Poverty History campaign and helped stage the Make Poverty History Concert, fronted by Pearl Jam and Bono.

In 2012, under the mantle of the Global Poverty Project (launched 2008), Evans co-founded Global Citizen, and with it, the Global Citizen Festival -- a free, ticketed event requiring fans to perform anti-poverty actions in exchange for entry, recruiting millions into the war against global poverty. In 2015 alone, Global Citizens took 2.3 million actions, helping to secure commitments from governments around the world that are set to affect more than 210 million lives.

What others say

“If there is such a thing as a prodigy in the world of philanthropy, Hugh Evans fits the bill.” — New York Times, August 22, 2012

Hugh Evans’ TED talk