Using music to inspire people to take action is at the core of Global Citizen and the festivals we hold all over the world.

And this year, as part of a new week of activities and programs ahead of the New York City festival, Global Citizen will be honoring a musician who has demonstrated excellence in music and activism over the course of her career.

Annie Lennox is equal parts world-renowned musician and global humanitarian. Ever since she performed in 2003 at the inaugural concert for Nelson Mandela’s HIV/AIDS Foundation 46664, she’s been on a mission to raise awareness and fundraise the HIV/AIDS cause.

That experience, combined with spending time in Uganda with Comic Relief and Malawi with Oxfam, inspired her to found an organization called SING, dedicated to supporting women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. She also is a founder of The Circle, a not-for-profit that supports and empowers marginalized women and girls around the world.

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For her efforts, she’s been honored with the Woman of Peace Award, given at the 2009 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. In 2011, she was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, to recognize her humanitarian work.

And on September 18, she will be awarded with the George Harrison Global Citizen Award, which was first awarded last year to Harrison, in recognition of his decades of tireless work to help the world’s poor.

“The beauty and power of George's music continues to inspire millions of people, with his social, political, universal message for a more sustainable, peaceful world,” Lennox told Vogue.com. “At a time when it appears we are facing more challenges than ever before, we need to embrace the notion of Global Citizenship. That means choosing hope over despair, responsibility over indifference, feminism over misogyny, and respect, love and kindness over bigotry, division and hatred.”

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“We have so many resources that can be used to make a contribution to transformative change and it starts with each of us,” Lennox continued. “I believe that everyone, individually or collectively can make a difference to the goal of addressing the issue of extreme poverty through the eight entry points of water and sanitation, food and hunger, health, environment, girls and women, education, finance and innovation and citizenship. I'm very grateful to be able to share and amplify this message and am truly honoured to be part of the ethos of George's vision, which I endorse with all my heart.”

Lennox will be honored at Global Citizen Live, an evening that will bring together world leaders, music artists, and social activists to celebrate the impacts of millions of Global Citizens who’ve taken action to help the world’s most vulnerable people.

Global Citizen Live is just one of many events making up Global Citizen Week, a new series of programming leading up to the Global Citizen Festival on Sept. 23 in Central Park.

Learn More About Global Citizen Week Here

The public, advocacy-driven events and activations will take place across New York City and seek to engage a wider audience on the issue of extreme poverty. The week is aligned with the UN General Assembly, where the world’s top diplomats will be debating how to solve this very problem.

The week starts with an interfaith service called “Breaking the Silence, Beyond the Dream” at the Riverside Church on Sept. 17. The Rev. Al Sharpton, Forest Whitaker, and a host of music performers will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s  “Beyond Vietnam” speech.

On Tuesday, Global Citizen hosts Movement Makers, a day of panels and discussions with experts from the arts, political, and social good spheres, at NYU. 

Also that week, Global Citizens who take action to earn free tickets will attend two intimate concerts hosted at Cadillac House, to celebrate entrepreneurship for social good. 

To cap the week off, 60,000 Global Citizens will come to Central Park to celebrate all that they’ve achieved as world leaders make commitments and Stevie Wonder, The Killers, Green Day, The Lumineers, and The Chainsmokers, take the stage. Want to attend the festival? You can start taking action here.

Proud partners of Global Citizen Week include: Gucci and CHIME FOR CHANGE, MSNBC & Comcast NBCUniversal, Live Nation, Johnson & Johnson, Citi, HP, Cadillac, T-Mobile, iHeartMedia, NYC Parks, lululemon, P&G, The New York City Mayor's Office for International Affairs, Bira 91, Universal Music Group, the Empire State Building, Forbes, Guardian US, Omaze, TOMS, and Tribeca Enterprises.