Global Citizen Appoints Terence Jeyaretnam And Anna Robson To Australian Board Of Directors

(Melbourne, AUS | Thursday, 4 February 2021) – Homegrown international advocacy organisation Global Citizen today announced the appointments of sustainability specialist Terence Jeyaretnam and social entrepreneur Anna Robson to its Australian Board of Directors. 

Jeyaretnam is a Partner at Ernst & Young (EY) in the Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice, as well as EY Australia’s Reconciliation Leader, while Robson is Co-founder and CEO of Refugee & Migrant Talent - Australia’s first national refugee and migrant employment platform facilitating sustainable employment.

2021 will be a critical year for the delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, as COVID-19 has pushed millions of people further into extreme poverty and the world seeks solutions to the climate crisis.

Together, Global Citizen Australia’s new directors bring decades of experience in environmental and sustainability policy, refugee and migrant policy, innovation, corporate citizenship and international development to the Global Citizen movement. Their contributions will be critical to ensuring the Australian Government continues to play an active role on the global stage and that Australians champion efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030.

The new board members join existing directors, Hon. Mary Wooldridge (Chair), Ian Allen AM, Trish Daley, Professor Linda Kristjanson AO and Natasha Stott Despoja AO.

“With less than ten years remaining to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals - the framework for ending extreme poverty - we need countries such as Australia to step up to ensure these goals are met. Due to COVID-19, more people have been pushed into extreme poverty and many global efforts have stalled or regressed. This means that the urgency and need to act is more important than ever. We are delighted to be welcoming the breadth of experience from Terence and Anna to ensure we expand our efforts in Australia and be an effective champion for the world’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Mary Wooldridge, Chair of Global Citizen Australia.

“I am honoured to be joining the Australian Board of Global Citizen. Environmental and climate impacts are not only disproportionately impacting the poor and vulnerable communities, but contributing to affecting ecosystems and food bowls, putting further strain on our common goal to eradicate poverty,” said Terence Jeyaretnam, who brings with him over twenty-five years’ experience advising governments and corporations on sustainability issues, and is also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, having migrated to Australia under humanitarian status from Sri Lanka in the mid ‘80’s.

Commenting on her appointment, Anna Robson said: "I am excited to join Global Citizen’s Australian Board and contribute to the organisation’s much-needed work towards encouraging all Australians to take actions that help meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which ultimately improve conditions for all human beings and the planet we live on."

Robson, who was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia 2017: Social Entrepreneurs, has helped connect more than 25,000 refugees and migrants globally and within Australia to over 600 employers nationally, via her social enterprise Refugee and Migrant Talent since it was launched in 2015.

For more information about how to join the Global Citizen movement, visit www.globalcitizen.org and follow @GlblCtznAU on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #GlobalCitizen.

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