Aryana Sayeed, Afghanistan’s well-known singer and women’s rights advocate, has been awarded the 2025 High Note Global Prize, an international honor supported by United Nations Human Rights, for her song “We Believe in Hope.”

The uplifting “We Believe in Hope” anthem by award-winning composer Jeff Beal, renowned Afghan artist and advocate Aryana Sayeed, and lyricist Joan Beal was inspired by the true story of Afghanistan’s courageous first all-female team.

Superstar Ellie Goulding will perform at the United Nations Human Rights-supported ‘Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Concert’ being held at the New Theatre Oxford in Oxford, UK on 06 June 2025. This concert hosted by United Nations Human Rights and the University of Oxford – aims to call urgent world attention to the escalating human rights implications of the climate crisis. Goulding has worked with the UN as a Global Environmental Ambassador and has used her unique platform to amplify the voice of the voiceless and encourage political discussions on climate change to match the ambitions of young people across the world. When asked about her message to delegates ahead of COP27 in 2022, she said: “It’s to the policymakers and world leaders to step up and be brave. The politics of all of this just needs to be braver. You know, the things that were promised at COP26 (2021) should be fulfilled and should be put into action. All we hear are just empty promises all the time. It’s just really exhausting. We honestly just want real action.” “UN Human Rights and the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance are honored Ellie will perform at the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Concert, as she has helped spotlight the growing human rights implications of climate change while pressing policymakers around the world to act,” said David Clark, Founder and CEO of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance. “When an artist of Ellie’s stature uses her platform to champion climate justice, the world pays attention.” The Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance supported by universities, youth, and the myriad elements of the climate justice movement has garnered support from celebrities that include Celine Dion, Cher, Green Day, Jack Black, Leonardo DiCaprio, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Carole King, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper, Pierce Brosnan, Billie Jean King, Camila Cabello, Laura Pausini, Joss Stone, and Kesha, to name just a few. Since launching in 2021 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance has emerged as a leading multi-stakeholder partnership for climate justice, bringing together human rights experts, scientists, corporate leaders, NGOs, academics, advocates, and people around the globe in the fight for rights-based climate action. Proceeds from Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Concerts will go to United Nations Human Rights climate justice initiatives and a dedicated Right Here, Right Now climate fund at MusiCares to help musicians affected by climate change. MusiCares is the leading music charity providing music professionals health and human services across a spectrum of needs. Mini Global Concerts presented by High Note Global.

Singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding will perform at Oxford’s New Theatre on Friday 6th June in a concert hosted by Oxford University and United Nations Human Rights. The event , ‘The Right Here Right Now Global Climate Concert’, aims to highlight the effect of climate breakdown on human rights worldwide. The show forms part of a series of exhibitions, lectures, performances, and workshops centred on environment issues. Events will run until the 8th June, and will be held in different locations around Oxford. Ellie Goulding, a multiple BRIT award winner who also has two GRAMMY Award nominations, became a UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2018. She is a longtime campaigner for environmental causes who addressed 85 heads of state at an Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London. She also became a WWF ambassador in 2022. With songs like ‘Love Me Like You Do’ and ‘Outside’ receiving over 1 billion streams on Spotify, tickets come in at just under £60 each. Meanwhile, the wider series will be launched this Wednesday by Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey at the Sheldonian. Guests will include COP26 president Alok Sharma and Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This will be followed by a hybrid event on Thursday, coinciding with World Environment Day. 

United Nations Human Rights (UN Human Rights)-supported Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance (Right Here, Right Now) is proud to announce superstar singer/songwriter and climate justice activist Ellie Goulding will perform at the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Concert to be held 6th June 2025 at New Theatre Oxford in Oxford, England. This concert hosted by United Nations Human Rights and the University of Oxford – aims to call urgent world attention to the escalating human rights implications of the climate crisis. The live concert is being held as part of the UN Human Rights and University of Oxford-hosted Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit, the largest climate justice summit of its kind, taking place 4 -7 June 2025. Goulding has worked with the UN as a Global Environmental Ambassador, and has used her unique platform to amplify the voice of the voiceless, and encourage political discussions on climate change to match the ambitions of young people across the world. When asked about her message to delegates ahead of COP27 in 2022, she said: “It’s to the policymakers and world leaders to step up and be brave. The politics of all of this just needs to be braver. You know, the things that were promised at COP26 (2021) should be fulfilled and should be put into action. All we hear are just empty promises all the time. It’s just really exhausting. We honestly just want real action.” “UN Human Rights and the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance are honored Ellie will perform at the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Concert, as she has helped spotlight the growing human rights implications of climate change while pressing policymakers around the world to act,” said David Clark, Founder and CEO of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance. “When an artist of Ellie’s stature uses her platform to champion climate justice, the world pays attention.” The Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance supported by universities, youth and the myriad elements of the climate justice movement has garnered support from celebrities that include Celine Dion, Cher, Green Day, Jack Black, Leonardo DiCaprio, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Carole King, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper, Pierce Brosnan, Billie Jean King, Camila Cabello, Laura Pausini, Joss Stone, and Kesha, to name just a few. Since launching in 2021 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance has emerged as a leading multi-stakeholder partnership for climate justice, bringing together human rights experts, scientists, corporate leaders, NGOs, academics, advocates, and people around the globe in the fight for rights-based climate action. “To face the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, we need to fundamentally – and urgently – rebuild our relationships with nature, our economies and society,”said Astrid Van Genderen Stort, Chief of External Engagement and Partnerships at UN Human Rights. “This requires radical and transformative change supported by a whole of society effort. By bringing together diverse elements of the climate justice and human rights movements, I hope that the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit – alongside other such initiatives – can advance partnerships and concrete steps to increase accountability for climate harms and catalyze human rights-based climate action for people and the planet.” The global programme takes place online, with partner universities around the world taking turns to lead the Summit, which is being livestreamed in Oxford’s iconic Sheldonian Theatre. Alongside the concert and online global programme, a local community-focused series of events is taking place in the city of Oxford, including photography exhibitions, interactive workshops, public lectures and panel discussions. For more information on the Summit, visit: http://www.oxfordsummit.org/ Proceeds from Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Concerts will go to United Nations Human Rights climate justice initiatives and a dedicated Right Here, Right Now climate fund at MusiCares® to help musicians affected by climate change. MusiCares® is the leading music charity providing music professionals health and human services across a spectrum of needs.  Mini Global Concerts presented by High Note Global.

It wasn’t until we all shuffled down the stairs of the Fillmore, ears ringing from an epic two-hour Green Day set, sweat dripping off our shirts and the cold San Francisco night air hitting our bewildered faces, that I realized just what we’d all just witnessed. After all, it’s not often that Green Day, who headline a tour of huge baseball stadiums later this summer, play a small show at a 1,300-capacity room like the Fillmore. Outside at the 8 p.m. showtime on Tuesday night, over a dozen people walked the sidewalk with hopeful signs: “Dad who needs 1 ticket,” “Name Your Price,” and “Help! Need a ticket to join my wife and 8-year-old stepson for the show… and it’s our wedding anniversary today! Please!!” Those who did get in, however, were treated to two hours of the Bay Area’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll export (sorry, Metallica), and at one of the country’s best venues, no less. Here’s what I can say definitively. In the past 35 years — starting in 1989, yeesh — I’ve seen Green Day at youth centers, warehouses, house parties, high schools and Rotary Club halls. And though they know how to rock a stadium just fine, they always thrive in small spaces, face-to-face with the crowd and making the tiniest room feel like the entire universe. The Fillmore show Tuesday night — a benefit for United Nations Human Rights climate justice initiatives and the Recording Academy’s MusiCares charity — was no exception. As Green Day had announced the day prior, they played the entirety of their new album Saviors, and the entirety of their 2004 opus American Idiot. Big, anthemic stuff. But without needing to play to the nosebleed seats in Section 327 above third base, they were able to give focus to epic songs like “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Homecoming.” Dressed in a sport jacket and Cramps T-shirt, Billie Joe Armstrong didn’t have to engage in much rockstar cosplay — for a hometown crowd, he still felt like just plain Billie from Rodeo, who you might bump into at Winchell’s after the Corrupted Morals show at Gilman. What was evident onstage — what he and Mike and Tré have picked up along the way since those early days — is not only a tight musicianship bordering on the miraculous, but a thespian’s skill for selling their songs and connecting with an audience. Green Day Are Once Again Political Pop-Punk ‘Saviors’ on New Album During the Saviors track “Bobby Sox,” a fan in the second row waved a bisexual flag in fervent recognition of the song’s love-who-you-want themes . For “Father to a Son,” echoes were present of Armstrong’s son’s opening band, Ultra Q. Acknowledging the upcoming election that nobody wants to think about, during “Letterbomb,” Billie interjected, “Whose finger do you want to be on the nuclear bomb?!” These sorts of things might come off as corny if they weren’t so sincere. Singing the final lines of the West Contra Costa anthem “Jesus of Suburbia,” about running away from the pain of a broken home, Billie appeared to briefly lose his voice; it was soon apparent that he was instead choking back tears. This is how you do it, Green Day seemed to say on Tuesday. Write songs about your turbulent life, find a supportive circle, stick with your convictions, play damn loud and sing even louder to anyone who’ll listen, in every city around the world, record an unrivaled catalog of songs, and then, when you’re too famous to do so, play at the Fillmore anyway, this place where you once saw the Replacements and the Church as a teenager and got stoned off a stranger’s joint , and get out there on stage and scream from the monitors and leap unimaginably high into the air and play like your life depends on it because somewhere, out in the crowd, is another 15-year-old kid with disapproving parents who doesn’t fit in at school, and who needs the same thing you needed when you were baptized into the gospel of rock ‘n’ roll liberation. After the show, out on the Fillmore overcrossing above Geary, was living proof of those types of kids: Mary Jane Mafia , a Green Day tribute band from Fremont playing a pop-up show of covers like “Walking Contradiction” and “2,000 Light Years Away” on the sidewalk to a dancing group of onlookers and a few bemused cops. See, they didn’t get in. They didn’t get to hear Green Day play new songs that have no business being as good as they are, like the brutally honest “Dilemma,” or jump in the pit for “St. Jimmy,” or sing along for the zillionth time to encore “Basket Case.” But what Green Day does is a thread, one that weaves from the Clash to the Replacements to Operation Ivy and onward to a thousand bands on sidewalks and in garages around the world.  So yeah — it was a show, but it was also a lineage. I really wish you coulda seen it.

Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance (Right Here, Right Now) just announced that iconic rock band Green Day has been selected as the headliner and international honorees for the upcoming Mini Global Climate Concert. The event, supported by the United Nations Human Rights , takes place on April 2 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California. Co-hosted by the United Nations Human Rights and the Recording Academy® , the concert aims to address the human rights crisis stemming from climate change. Tickets for the intimate benefit concert are on sale through Ticketmaster . Green Day’s Commitment to Social Justice and the Environment Green Day, the five-time GRAMMY® Award-winning rock superstars, have long been champions of social justice and environmental causes. Formed in 1986 in Berkeley, CA, the band has garnered immense popularity, selling over 75 million records worldwide and accumulating 10 billion audio/visual streams. Their 14th studio album, “Saviors,” released on January 19, 2024, debuted at No.1 on seven different Billboard charts and marked their fifth No.1 in the UK. Known for their electrifying performances, Green Day will kick off their global stadium tour, “ The Saviors Tour ,” on May 30, featuring performances of their iconic albums “Dookie” and “American Idiot” in their entirety, alongside tracks from “Saviors” and fan favorites. The Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert Series The Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert Series aims to spotlight the human rights-based approaches and solutions to climate change. Recognition from Global Leaders Through a press release provided by the Recording Academy® organizers say, “We are pleased to recognize Green Day and excited for the incredible band to help us launch the international Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert Series ,” states Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights . “As world-renowned artists and activists, Green Day continues to leverage its major influence and platform to bring awareness to the impact of climate change on the people and the environment. The United Nations was founded in San Francisco almost 80 years ago to safeguard human rights and dignity from crisis and tragedy. It is only fitting that we are back in San Francisco promoting human rights-based approaches and solutions to the climate crisis as co-hosts along with the Recording Academy.” David Clark, founder and CEO of Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance , said, “It’s a privilege and honor to have Green Day headline the Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert in San Francisco. We selected the band, as Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt , and Tré Cool have been at the forefront [of] promoting social justice initiatives for decades. When iconic artists like Green Day leverage their global platform to promote climate justice, the world takes notice. In their new song Saviors, they mention they’re ‘the last of the rockers making a commotion,’ which we’re all grateful for. I believe when you stand for something – you stand out, and they certainly do!” Supporting Climate Justice Initiatives Proceeds from the Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concerts will support United Nations Human Rights climate justice initiatives and a dedicated climate fund at MusiCares® to aid musicians affected by climate change. Joining Forces for a Better World Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, emphasized music’s power to effect positive change and expressed gratitude for Green Day’s commitment to promoting social justice. The Recording Academy is proud to co-host the Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert alongside the United Nations Human Rights team. For more information about the concert series and the organizations involved, visit www.righthererightnow.global . About United Nations Human Rights The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (United Nations Human Rights) works to promote and protect human rights for all people. With a staff of 1,971 working in 88 countries, the organization strives to make human rights a reality worldwide. For more information, visit www.ohchr.org . Mini Global Concerts presented by High Note Global.

Green Day have been selected as the headliner and international honorees of the ecologically driven concert, which aims to combat the human rights crisis resulting from climate change.

The Recording Academy has announced a new initiative , revealing that it has teamed with multiple United Nations Human Rights-supported global initiatives to use music to promote social justice around the world. Named the Right Here, Right Now Music initiative and launched on Wednesday, the new campaign encourages artists to use their platform to encourage support for multiple United Nations Human Rights goals including advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality, women's empowerment, climate justice and other human rights issues. A concert, of course: To kick things off, the Recording Academy and United Nations Human Rights will host the Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert Series, beginning April 13, at the Boulder Theater in Colorado with headliner Wesley Schultz, lead singer and co-founder of The Lumineers, and special guests including Yola. The show will be filmed by Citizen Pictures to be broadcast later and is the first of multiple Mini Global Climate Concerts planned around the world including potential shows in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, London, Johannesburg, Bogotá, and Dubai. Proceeds from the concerts will go to United Nations Human Rights climate justice initiatives and MusiCares.  The power of music: The Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance was unveiled in 2021 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow and has become the largest public-private partnership addressing climate change as a human rights issue. Major artists have supported the alliance including Quincy Jones, Celine Dion, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cher, Camila Cabello, Annie Lennox, LL Cool J, Cyndi Lauper, Pitbull, Jack Black, the Lumineers, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Bridges, Edward Norton, Bob Weir, Dead & Company, Kesha, Joss Stone, and Michael Franti, with more to come following the Academy’s latest partnership.

The first activation of the Recording Academy's collaboration with United Nations Human Rights featured impassioned speeches about climate change and unforgettable performances from the Lumineers frontman Wesley Schultz and special guest Yola.

To celebrate United Nations Human Rights Day on Thursday (Dec. 10), John Legend received the prestigious High Note Global Prize for social justice, presented by United Nations Human Rights, partner of the High Note Global Initiative and David Clark Cause.

On United Nations Human Rights Day (December 10), singer-songwriter-activist John Legend has been named recipient of the High Note Global Prize for social justice, presented by United Nations Human Rights, Partner of the High Note Global Initiative, and David Clark Cause, the organizations announced.

John Legend has been awarded a human rights prize by the United Nations’ human rights arm in recognition of his social justice advocacy work.

United Nations Human Rights has awarded John Legend its second annual High Note Global Prize in recognition of his career as a musician and activist fighting for social justice.

Throughout her decades-long career, pop superstar Cyndi Lauper has been a loud and proud advocate for the LGBTQ community. Especially with her nonprofit charity organization True Colors United, which is aimed at ending homelessness for LGBTQ youth, Lauper has always made sure her voice is being used for good.

The legendary Cyndi Lauper was honored in Los Angeles Tuesday night for her enduring support of the LGBTQ+ community and her message of tolerance inspiring people to be true to themselves.

Cyndi Lauper is the first recipient of the High Note Global Prize, an award that the United Nations has created for artists using their platform to work for social justice.

The award will be given to artists who have promoted social justice for over a decade.

Cyndi Lauper will receive the inaugural High Note Global Prize for her efforts to help prevent and end homelessness among LGBTQ youth.

Pop icon and human rights activist Cyndi Lauper will receive the United Nations' inaugural High Note Global Prize award, given to artists who use their music and platforms to advocate for social justice.

From: https://variety.com/2019/music/news/cyndi-lauper-united-nations-honor-kesha-1203416243/ The United Nations will award Cyndi Lauper with the first High Note Global Prize award for her promotion of human rights and impacting work to prevent and end homelessness for LGBTQ youth, the organization announced today. On U.N. Human Rights Day — which is December 10 — the High Note Global Prize will be presented to Lauper by singer Kesha and the U.N. Human Rights organization at Lauper’s “Home for the Holidays” benefit concert in Los Angeles, being held at The Novo at L.A. Live. U.N. Human Rights is Global Partner of The High Note Global Initiative founded by David Clark, a creator of cause-brands and humanitarian initiatives for President Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Prince, United Nations, Amnesty International, and The Anne Frank Center, among others. According to the announcement, Lauper is being recognized for her lifelong advocacy for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) people, as well as the significant achievements made by True Colors United, a nonprofit organization she co-founded in 2008 to prevent and end youth homelessness among LGBTQ youth. In May 2015, her testimony to the U.S. Senate Sub-Appropriations Committee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development played a leading role in securing approximately $250 million in new annual federal funding over the past four years to invest in preventing and end youth homelessness in over 70 communities across America. Each year, 4.2 million youth and young adults experience some form of homelessness in the United States and up to 40% of which are LGBTQ. True Colors United develops and implements solutions to youth homelessness that focus on the unique experiences of LGBTQ young people through a wide array of training and education, technical assistance, advocacy, and youth collaboration programs. “We are proud to support The High Note Global Initiative in an effort to galvanize global mobilization for human rights, and at the same time honor artists who passionately use their work to promote and protect the rights of others,” said Laurent Sauveur, Chief External Outreach, UN Human Rights. “The High Note Global Prize celebrates artists that have leveraged their musical gifts to create a platform to promote social justice,” said Clark, Creator of The High Note Global Initiative and CEO of David Clark Cause. “We are delighted to recognize and honor Cyndi Lauper as the 2019 High Note Global Prize Laureate. For decades she has promoted human rights, been a voice and active participant for change, and inspired people around the world to be tolerant and true to themselves. She is most deserving of this award, and we look forward to celebrating her achievements during our inaugural High Note Global Prize award ceremony.” Along with Kesha, celebrities at paying tribute to Lauper and True Colors United on UN Human Rights Day include Billy Porter, Brandi Carlile, Belinda Carlisle, King Princess, Charlie Musselwhite, Henry Rollins, Perry Farrell with Etty Lau Farrell, Justin Tranter, K. Flay, Emily Estefan, Shawn Wasabi, comics Carol Leifer and Lily Tomlin, U.K. comedian Gina Yashere, Margaret Cho, and Carson Kressley, among others to be announced. Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey, Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Dua Lipa, Kacey Musgraves, RuPaul, and Tegan and Sara are among the artists who have donated items and experiences for a charity auction with 100% proceeds supporting True Colors United programs.

GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Cyndi Lauper will be honored with the United Nation's first-ever High Note Global Prize for her efforts to end LGBTQ youth homelessness.

Music icon Cyndi Lauper will be honored for showing her true colors. The legendary recording artist will receive The High Note Global Prize, an award presented to musicians who use their art to promote social justice.