Now’s the time for government, business, civil society and the public to act together
The world’s most vexing challenges like health, poverty, education, equality and environmental sustainability are about to being changed.
In a recent article published by the Guardian, Kevin Steinberg, president of Purpose, a public benefit corporation which builds movements and new power models to tackle the world’s biggest problems, provided great examples of how the world tackles it’s most pressing challenges in new innovative ways. Below you can read our favourite examples.
In recent years, there have been several examples of successful cross-sector collaborations, such as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi). Launched in 2000, it brought together governments, UN agencies, companies and organizations to launch and fund a renewed effort to combat preventable childhood diseases. For decades prior, there had been limited global progress on delivering basic vaccines in developing countries. However, in the last fifteen years, this collaboration has overseen the vaccination of more than half a billion children and has saved 7 million lives.
During last September’s UN General Assembly week, an unprecedented coalition of private, public and social sector players gathered more than 400,000 people to march through New York City’s Central Park in support of climate action. Innovative new organizations like Here Now, a movement accelerator focused on climate, clean energy and sustainable solutions, have focused on partnering with like-minded organizations to reach millions of people through online channels. In April, on Earth Day, it helped more than 200 partners – including 20 major businesses; upwards of 45 NGOs; 75 artists, filmmakers and musicians; celebrities and politicians; and thousands of citizens across five continents – to reach 265 million people with the message that #ClimateChangeIsReal and so are the solutions to address it.