From a shy northern suburbs kid to one of the faces of a multi-billion dollar global advocacy platform, Michael Sheldrick has taken the world by storm.
Now he is returning home to Perth and bringing his Global Citizens event back with him.
“I grew up in Kinross and went to high school in Clarkson and in Mindarie before coming along to UWA and spending seven years here,” Sheldrick said.
“When someone asks my mum ‘Did you ever think Michael was going to do all this?’ She says ‘No, absolutely not’ because at the start of high school I was that kid who was incredibly shy, very insecure and I wasn’t great at many things.
“Of course kids can be great, but they can also be cruel. So I was the subject of laughter, all that, and also academically wasn’t great.”
He credits his success to one of his teachers in his first year of high school for helping him persist and put the extra effort into his studies.
“It was the first time someone had really said you’re not stupid, you’re not lazy, you’re not a loser and I believe in you,” he said.
Sheldrick went on to graduate in the top 1 per cent of the state and scored a place at UWA to study degrees in law and political science.
But he says it’s his experience as an academically struggling kid that made him want to give back to others.
“I remembered what it felt like to be that kid at the start of school and the difference that teacher made in my life,” he said.
“As I learnt about the world, the injustice, the inequities, [I realised] that there’s millions of children who have so much potential and are far more talented and smarter than I am, but because they don’t have access to great teachers like we have here in Perth, or maybe great healthcare systems, would never live to achieve their potential.
“So I guess how I got involved was almost a sense of gratitude for the opportunities that I had here growing up in this great city, and a desire to do what I can to provide others with the opportunity to achieve their potential.”
It was at university where Sheldrick met his four fellow co-founders Hugh Evans, Simon Moss, Wei Soo and Ryan Gall, who spearheaded the first major Global Citizen advocacy campaign to end polio in 2011.
Using a similar model to what they use now, the event saw people earn tickets to a free concert by taking part in actions that could make a tangible difference to the world.
The event saw 5000 people gather in the Swan Valley to see a performance by John Legend and raised $118 million which included a massive commitment from the federal government.
“The very next day, Julia Gillard called a press conference and announced $50 million dollars to help eradicate polio, a commitment that’s been sustained ever since over the last 15 years, and that was almost to the day,” he said.
It was this event that spearheaded the future for Global Citizen because less than nine months later, they held their first festival on the lawn of Central Park in New York with Neil Young and the Foo Fighters.
“More than a decade and a half later, we’ve now mobilised more than 40 million citizen actions around the world,” Sheldrick said.
“That’s volunteering, people picking up trash on a beach, planting trees, volunteering their time, which we estimate has led to more than 1.3 billion life-saving interventions.”
Sheldrick has since worked with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Coldplay and Lady Gaga along with world leaders from Justin Trudeau to Ban Ki-moon on Global Citizen events.
Most recently the organisation was a part of the FIFA World Cup and raised $60 million along with Shakira and Burna Boy, donating all the proceeds of their song Dai Dai to the FIFA Global Citizens Education fund.
The fund supports 58 organisations including two in Western Australia: the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation and Teach for Australia.
To date, Global Citizen has moved more than US $50 billion toward efforts in over 150 countries.
On October 19 and 20, Global Citizen Now: Perth – an action summit – and Global Citizen Nights: Perth – a free show – will be held at the Perth Convention Centre with a goal to accelerate action on clean energy, electrification and global development.
The action summit will run across both days and bring together leaders from government, business, philanthropy, First Nations communities and civil society to secure commitments to help provide energy access to millions of people.
Speakers include Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, WA Premier Roger Cook, Kevin Rudd, Ian Thorpe, John Butler and Fremantle Dockers captain Alex Pearce.
“This effort is about the fact that more than 600 million people around the world lack access to reliable, affordable electricity,” he said.
“So our goal leading into the summit that we’ve been working on all year is to secure commitments from businesses, from governments, to provide energy access to more than four million households, especially those in our region who don’t have access.”
The summit will conclude with a free ticketed concert headlined by ARIA-Award winning band The Teskey Brothers, with performances from Perth locals South Summit and Ruby Rodgers.
His advice to other young students with a dream to make a difference in the world: “Just ask for help”.
“I know it sounds simple, but Global Citizen stands on the shoulders of giants,” he said.
“So my advice is: think about what you need help with. Don’t think you need all the answers yourself.
“Yes, nine out of 10 people might say no, but don’t give up because there will be that one person who responds, and people want to help.
“I think especially now, people are actually crying out for solutions, and they want to help. So, if you’ve got a great idea, you will find support and don’t be afraid.”