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Listen Charity
billion vulnerable children
Listen Charity
one in three
Listen Charity
four in ten
Listen Charity
listening to problems
Listen Charity
celebrating solutions
Listen Charity
listen helps UNSDGs
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global audience
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online community
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creative artists
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projects
Listen Charity
billion of grants
Listen Charity
media exposure


BEFORE COVID THERE WERE 1 BILLION VULNERABLE AND DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN IN THE WORLD.
COVID IS THOUGHT TO HAVE INCREASED THIS BY 20%.


EACH YEAR, THE LISTEN CAMPAIGN WILL USE THE POWER OF MORE THAN 100 CREATIVE ARTISTS FROM FILM, MUSIC AND THE ARTS – COMBINED WITH THE POWER OF MEDIA AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES – TO CAMPAIGN FOR SOLUTIONS TO THESE CHILDREN’S PROBLEMS.




LISTEN’S PERSPECTIVE

There are approximately 1 billion vulnerable or disadvantaged children in the world
700 million are living in multidimensional poverty
640 million are without adequate shelter
400 million are without access to safe water
383 million are brought up on less than $1.9/day
270 million have no access to health services
At least 60 million children get no primary education
Nearly 50 million children are refugees or migrants.
Leaving our children with these problems bakes in greater problems for the future
Despite the colossal dimension of these problems there is still only ad hoc media coverage and children’s charities
cannot afford to build the required communications solution. 
Listen will provide an annual and global media platform showing the world practical solutions to these children’s problems.
Solutions that should be scaled up or replicated around the world. 
Solutions that will be celebrated.

THE LISTEN CAMPAIGN

Celebrating Solutions to Vulnerable and Disadvantaged Children’s Problems

 

The Listen campaign is a unique, annual and global star-studded campaign, that will illuminate the problems faced by the world’s one billion vulnerable and severely disadvantaged children and will celebrate projects already providing much-needed solutions. At the heart of the campaign are children telling their own stories.

 

The annual global media campaign will use a unique platform combining new, traditional and social media, and the creativity of major stars and artists to build a worldwide community of supporters. It will involve 80 stars and artists known internationally and 20 from each of India, Africa and Latin America. 

 

The campaign will pay special attention to children who suffer from the scourges of poverty, disease, pollution, climate change, war & conflict, exploitation and racism. It will provide, grants, loans and investments to children's charity projects and social enterprises that provide scalable and replicable solutions. In its first year, Listen will focus on 75 projects from the world’s top children’s charities that collectively address 10 of the UNSDG’s. 

listen diagram

In addition to 52 weeks per year of online and social media content, Listen will have broadcasts and media partners in more than 60 countries providing $4 billion in media exposure in a decade.  This exposure will consist of news, promotions, documentary series and features focused on children’s stories, art, literature and music.  Children will talk in safety and with dignity about the problems they face and celebrate projects that have helped them.  Listen will also include a Global Fundraising Broadcast called “Listen Live Plus”, customized to different audiences around the world and designed to reach 500 million people in over 60 countries.  ABC will air the broadcast in the U.S, Zee TV in India and other broadcasters in Africa, MENA, Latin America and Europe.  

 

The Campaign will be Carbon Neutral and will start with the launch of the Listen Collectibles Auction and Shop in January 2022.


Listen’s media output is expected to increase the exposure of vulnerable and disadvantaged children’s problems and the projects that help them, by more than 200%.  It is an unprecedented initiative led by legendary producer Tony Hollingsworth who  produced nine of the largest broadcast events in history, each reaching a broadcast audience of 500 million people, and was behind some of the most historic global issue campaigns including the “Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute” and “The Wall Live in Berlin”

The Listen Campaign will be run by Listen Communications Ltd and The Listen Charity and their associates: Listen Communications Ltd (UK Co No:11928448), ListenAMCUS1 Inc (C4134080), Listen Media Campaign Co. SA Pty Ltd (SA Reg No 2014/239160/07) The Listen Charity (UK Ch Reg No 1079446) The Listen Charity South Africa (SA Reg No 2016/492837/08) The Listen Charity USA (US Reg No 412233890).

LISTEN’S IMPACT

In its inaugural year, The Listen Charity will use the donations it receives to fund approximately 75 children’s projects and will report on the impact these grants are having on the lives of children. Listen will focus on projects designed to improve children's physical, psychological and emotional health, raise the quality of their nutrition, education, shelter, play, creativity and economic prospects; and protect their rights as defined in the UN Conventions on The Rights of the Child.  

Over a decade Listen aims to: 

Provide $1bn to children’s projects

Generate $4 billion of media exposure

Activate a community of 35 million 

Importantly Listen aims to seed the world with stories of evidence-based solutions that have improved the lives of children.  Having listened to the problems and seen practical solutions:

Civil society will give more to children’s projects 

Companies will apply more of their CSR funding to children’s projects

Citizens will be better informed about how effective aid can work and why it is necessary

Citizens in communities with vulnerable and disadvantaged children will create or push for, proven solutions.

LISTEN’S PUBLIC WILL PARTICIPATE BY

Sharing content 

Recruiting friends

Creating short stories, visual art, cartoons, music and videos

Participating in and promoting the ‘Listen Creative Arts Awards’

Participating in Listen’s “Weekly Challenge”

Collecting Listen points

Using and gifting Listen points

Contributing ideas for news stories 

Sharing ideas 

Donating, buying merchandise and SVOD

Creating micro campaigns in Colleges, Universities, Schools and Companies.

Listen token

 

The Listen Token, $LSTN, is a Utility Token being sold to help fund The Listen Campaign. It provides a number of benefits to the holders including discounts on

NFTs being sold in “Listen Collectibles Auction and Shop”.

 

Listen Collectibles Auction and Shop

 

Our team


TONY HOLLINGSWORTH

Founder



Tony is the Founder of the Listen Campaign and is a key world figure in the use of popular culture as a campaign tool for causes. Tony has decades of experience in producing starting out in 1981 with Glastonbury Festival.

Chris Spurgeon

Chief Financial Officer



Chris is the CFO of Listen Communications Ltd and has over 30 years executive experience. Starting out as a qualified Chartered Accountant he soon became the Financial Director of the television division of Chrysalis Group PLC, comprising 10 production

Marcelo Salup

Global Messaging Officer



Marcelo is Global Messaging Officer for Listen Communications Ltd. and has over 30 years of experience in marketing and advertising. He was EVP and International Media Director at FCB and led the media teams in 15 brand launches.

Christiana Evanthous

Group Finance Director



Christiana is the Group Finance Director of Listen Communications Ltd and its subsidiaries. She has 32 years of accounting and finance experience and has held significant executive roles within an international corporate environment.

Carlo Carani

Chief Legal Officer



Carlo is a US-trained attorney and member of the Illinois Bar who has spent nearly 20 years working in positions of leadership on teams handling complex transnational business projects.

Panayiotis Annivas

Chief Technology Officer



Panayiotis Annivas is the Chief Technology Officer of the group of companies running The Listen Campaign

Robert Apatoff

Senior Advisor on US Corporate Partnerships



Robert S. (Rob) Apatoff is the Senior Advisor on US Corporate Partnerships to Listen Communications. Rob is the Executive Director of the Kellogg Executive Leadership Institute (KELI) and a Clinical Professor of Executive Education

Ambassador Abdul Minty

Advisor



Abdul is an advisor to the Listen Campaign and has over five decades of high level experience in international campaigning, political affairs and diplomacy.

David Bull CBE

Advisor



David is an advisor to the Listen Campaign and has 32 years experience as the CEO of various not-for-profit organisations. He started with Oxfam in the UK as a public affairs officer then moved to Kenya.

Sheryl Trinh

Producer why Listen



Sheryl is the Executive Producer of two features documentaries within the Listen Campaign. She has 20 years experience in the TV production industry overseeing production, company operations, development, funding, financing and strategy.

Gillian Durden

Executive PA to Founder



Gillian is the Executive Personal Assistant to Founder Tony and Company Secretary. She has over 25 years experience in the media and music industries having worked for three UK record labels Decca, V2 and Universal

AB Moosa

Consultant



AB is a Consultant to the Listen Media Campaign Company SA Ltd and has been involved in the Film and Cinema business for 25 years. He started by joining his father in the management of the Avalon Group, South Africa’s largest and oldest cinema company

Tashinee Moodley

Advisor



Tashinee is an advisor to the Listen Campaign (South Africa). She is an investment professional with 15+ years’ experience across Investment banking and Fund management on both the buy and sell side across sectors.

Sivan Pillay

Executive Producer, South Africa



Sivan is an Executive Producer of The Listen Campaign in South Africa. He has over 25 years of experience in the music and television industry.

Preeta Singh

Campaign Lead, India



Preeta is The Listen Campaign’s lead in India and has over thirty years of experience working with regional, national and international brands.

THE LISTEN CHARITIES TRUSTEES

Lord Peter Hain


Peter is a trustee of The Listen Charity and has been involved in politics for 40 years. He served in various positions in the UK government between 1999 and 2010

Professor Ruchira Gupta


Ruchira is a trustee of The Listen Charity and has campaigned for over 30 years to demand a world in which no human being is bought or sold.

Molly Bingham


Molly is a trustee of The Listen Charity and is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer and journalist.

Steven Saltzman


Steven is a trustee of The Listen Charity and has more than 30 years of experience in the media, radio and exhibition industries.

Scott Lanphere


Scott is a trustee of The Listen Charity and an American private equity professional with 25 years of experience. Scott has worked with Advent International, Deutsche Bank, Saudi Arabian Investment

Yvonne Bezerra de Mello


Yvonne is a trustee of The Listen Charity and a well-known Brazilian social activist. Yvonne founded the Uere Project in Rio de Janeiro.

Philip Rowley


Philip Rowley is a trustee of The Listen Charity USA and is Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Michael Nyman


Michael is a Trustee for The Listen Charity USA and 30-years marketing and communications industry expert and operator.

James Brasher


James is a trustee to The Listen Charity USA and has over five decades of high level experience as chief strategist and advisor to key global figures and major NGOs and philanthropic institutions.

Vuyiswa Sidzumo


Vuyiswa is a trustee of The Listen Charity South Africa and has over two decades’ experience in grant giving and the monitoring and evaluation of donor-supported programs.

Nazeer Cassim SC


Nazeer is a trustee of The Listen Charity South Africa and has 37 years experience in law. He started as a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at the University of Natal.

Eka Williams


Eka is a trustee of The Listen Charity South Africa and has over two decades worked on HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights issues in several sub-Saharan African countries.

Martin L. Kingston


Martin is a trustee of The Listen Charity South Africa and is the CEO of Rothschild South Africa and a global partner of Rothschild Global Advisory.

Listen is from the Producers of nine global media campaigns harnessing the power of entertainment