United Nations Foundation, Shell, Tribal Brands to join with Artists in the Entertainment Industry to Celebrate the Global Launch of mPowering Action

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the United Nations Foundation, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Tribal Brands, Inc. and members of the entertainment industry will unite to celebrate the launch of mPowering Action, a first-of-its-kind worldwide movement and mobile platform designed to inspire, empower and motivate a generation of global citizens to take positive action in their communities, for their families and for themselves. Co-hosted by actress / UN Youth and Girl Up champion, Monique Coleman, mPowering Action will be launched at a star-studded event during Grammy Week in Los Angeles, and will feature a special appearance by super-producer Timbaland, the platform's first Producer-In-Residence, who alongside Agnes Monica will make the U.S. debut of the first song in support of the initiative. The event will also feature a performance by two-time Grammy-nominated DJ / producer Avicii, whose House for Hunger initiative is currently supporting The FEED Foundation. More than 600 global youth leaders, from 15 nations, alongside representatives from organizations like Girl Up, Model UN, the Always Believing Foundation and the UN Global Youth Forum, will share their stories and highlight key issues in their countries and how collective action can provide a stimulus for global, social and environmental change.

Today, people under 25 make up 43 percent of the world's population – in some countries, that number is as high as 60 percent. This amounts to nearly 4 billion young people living on the brink of the greatest technological advances and human progress while also surrounded by intractable public health epidemics, record jobless rates, outdated education systems and historic pressures on the planet's resources. This generation of millennials is social media savvy and eager to help create real-world change, and for the first time in history, technology has the ability to facilitate change in the palm of their hands.

mPowering Action incentivizes youth to learn and engage through two popular mediums: the universal language of music and the ubiquity of the mobile phone. Bringing together A-list artists from around the world, a mobile application was developed by Tribal Brands that will offer young people everywhere exclusive content from globally recognized artists, as well as athletes and other celebrities, in exchange for a story or personal commitment to take action in one of five issue areas:

• Education – especially as it relates to young women and girls;
• Health inclusive of maternal health, vaccinations, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria;
• Reproductive and Sexual Rights;
• Energy Scarcity, Climate Change and Resource Management; and
• Jobs, Apprenticeships and Workforce development.

By working with organizations like the UN Foundation and Shell, mPowering Action aims to invite people into this process, providing a cross-sector approach to mobilizing 100 million young people to address some of the most pertinent development and resource management issues of our time.

"At the UN Foundation, our goal is to connect people and ideas with resources to help the global community solve challenging problems now and in the future," said Kathy Calvin, Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations Foundation. "Mobile technology is at the heart of finding solutions to these problems and creating opportunities for young people. With the ubiquity of mobile technology and innovative platforms like mPowering Action, we are beginning to see the power of mobile tools and the potential of incentives for action in all corners of the world. We welcome and celebrate the mPowering Action approach that matches groundbreaking technology with people who care about global issues and want to support UN causes."

As part of the launch event, the UN Foundation and mPowering Action's lead corporate partner, Shell, are calling on the global nonprofit, entertainment and corporate communities to learn more about the initiative and join efforts to help reach billions of youth around the world, encouraging them to take part in creating a better future for themselves and their communities. The launch of the platform serves as a call-to-action to help reinvent the way organizations, the entertainment industry and corporations implement and measure social good and corporate social responsibility programs.

"As global population continues to rapidly grow, societies will become healthier and more prosperous. This growth will increase stress and scarcity on water, food and energy, our most vital, global resources. All sectors must work now with the youth of today and the leaders of tomorrow to better prepare for these challenges, implement solutions, and encourage personal action," said Dr. Herbert Heitmann, Executive Vice-President of External Communications for Shell. "We're thrilled to be working with the UN Foundation and its partners to empower youth everywhere to address critical issues that affect the future of our world."

Through the mPowering Action mobile application, young people will be able to explore and articulate the issues that are important to them, search a global database of nonprofit organizations to get involved with, find local meetings and/or events that focus on issues relevant to them and connect with like-minded peers throughout the world. 

Some of the first digital content on the mobile application will include songs recorded at the event, as well as an exclusive track by Timbaland and Agnes Monica.

The mPowering Action platform was originally debuted to youth leaders as part of UN-sponsored meetings at the ICPD Global Youth Forum in Bali, Indonesia in December 2012. For more information about the platform, please visit www.facebook.com/mPoweringAction and follow @mPoweringAction on Twitter.

About the United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals.  For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.

About Royal Dutch Shell plc
Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 80 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit www.shell.com.

About Tribal Brands, Inc.
Tribal Brands, Inc. is the vanguard of mobile entertainment and marketing – the very definition of a change agent.  As the first company to drive over $1 Billion of sales on mobile platforms through carrier partners worldwide, Tribal Brands today is defining mobile innovation in entertainment, sports, and brand cause marketing.  From day one, Tribal Brands has differentiated itself from other entertainment and digital-marketing firms by understanding that consumers, when empowered and engaged, can become influential, viral brand advocates and an effective extension of a brand's sales team.  With more than a decade of experience in cross-promoting some of the most influential creative talent and top-tier brands globally, Tribal Brands builds innovative campaigns leveraging interactive consumer engagements while delivering key mobile analytics insights from Tribal Technologies, Inc. around customer loyalty and marketing effectiveness.  More on Tribal Brands: www.tribalbrands.com.  More on Tribal Technologies: www.tribaltech.com.

About House for Hunger
In 2011, two-time Grammy Nominee Avicii, aka Tim Bergling, and his manager, Grammy nominated executive producer Ash Pournouri, created House for Hunger, a non-profit charity created to address the growing problem of global hunger.  Bergling and Pournouri felt that the values of generosity, love and unity that house music has always been about had been given short shrift by the media.  They created House for Hunger to demonstrate the positivity of the music and its fans, while addressing the issue of hunger in a very concrete way. House for Hunger is a conduit through which Bergling and Pournouri donate and raise funds, which are then funneled to organizations that directly impact men, women and children around the world who suffer from daily undernourishment.  To date, Bergling and Pournouri have given over $1 million to House for Hunger, which was then donated to Feeding America.  More on House for Hunger: www.houseforhunger.org.

About the Always Believing Foundation
The Always Believing Foundation was established by Monique and Timothy Mosley (Timbaland) in 2008 to empower our youth to stand up, be heard and take action. Always Believing magnifies kids voices through the power of music to educate, motivate and build healthier, stronger and happier lives for all children. Our current initiative focuses on the global crisis of childhood obesity, partnering with organizations around the world to raise awareness, educate and advocate to empower our youth to be healthier and stronger leaders in their communities. http://alwaysbelieving.com/.

Media Contacts

Edelman
Jessica Jennings
(646) 373-9664
[email protected]

UN Foundation
Darley Tom
(202) 496-6384
[email protected]

Shell US Media Line
(713) 241-4544

Tribal Brands
Jette Speights
(415) 385-8829
[email protected]

SOURCE Tribal Brands, Inc.