How to Create an Activist Movement and Initiate Global Change? | Sir Bob Geldof

Under the tagline Play your part, play it loud, Sir Bob Geldof took the stage at this year’s EAT Stockholm Food Forum to talk about global activism and what today’s activists can learn from Live Aid.

The greatest threat to the planet is the belief that someone else will save itSir Bob Geldof

In 1984, moved by television pictures of the famine-stricken Ethiopia, Geldof established Band Aid and wrote the song “Do they know it’s Christmas”? The year after he organized simultaneous Live Aid charity concerts that were held in London and Philadelphia and were broadcast live to 165 countries across the globe. Band Aid and Live Aid combined raised 150 million USD to the Ethiopian case. 20 years later in 2005, the Live 8 concerts were performed in the same spirit and was a huge global fundraising event.  More than 1,000 musicians performed at the eight concerts, which were broadcast on 182 television networks to as many as 3 billion viewers.

Since then, Geldof has relentlessly continued his work as an activist.

Geldof is a world recognized musician, activist and founder of Band Aid & Live Aid. Today, Geldof is the chairman of the 8 Miles, a private equity firm he founded in 2010 that focuses on investments in African consumer-driven businesses. The fund raised $200 million in 2012 and usually places between US$15 million and US$45 million in each investment.

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