Organizers for a charity concert against extreme world poverty have come up with a novel way of harnessing social media. That charity concert is the Global Festival 2012, which will be held in New York City’s Central Park come September 29th, but aside from the big names that will be performing — Neil Young and Crazy Horse, K’naan, and the Foo Fighters to name a few — people are talking about the event because instead of just raising money through ticket sales, concert-goers will be used as vehicles for message transmission. Such an exploit will be accomplished by making those interested in attending the concert watch informational videos on the plight of the impoverished at home and abroad.
Out of 60 thousand available tickets, 54 thousand will be given away for free through a lottery arrangement. The lottery distribution was a requirement put in place by the city of New York, which gave its consent for the event to take place in Central Park’s Grand Lawn. The place is so beloved that the Foo Fighters themselves put it on their bucket list of places where they’d like to perform.
Behind the entire effort is an apparently tireless 29-year-old Australian, Hugh Evans. He’s been on a kick to end extreme world poverty since he was 14 years old, read more about his background in James C. McKinley, Jr.’s recent piece for the New York Times.
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