Topeka K. Sam Named Goodwill Ambassador

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 20, 2020

For more information contact: Giselle@globalcreativeeconomy.com

THE GLOBAL FESTIVAL OF CREATIVE ECONOMY ANNOUNCES ITS THEME 

FOR ITS FIRST ANNUAL EVENT – “CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT ILLUMINATING THE ROAD TO HEALING THE WORLD” AND ITS AMBASSADORSHIPS 

(NY, NY) - November 20, 2020, In celebration of International Children's Day on this November 20, The Global Festival of Creative Economy will launch its first annual event on December 19, 2020, with a mission to engage creative industries throughout the world and build the creative economy and synergies for career paths for all. This is a yearly festival supported by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development aligned with the United Nations' Sustainability Development Goals (S.D.G.) for poverty alleviation, particularly S.D.G. #16. through social justice, arts education for youth, and this year, by addressing the needs of youth and their families impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

Earlier this week in Atlanta, Ozzie Areu, the festival’s President, film studio executive, announced Emely Cruz de Fernandez as Honorary Vice President of Architecture and Design, and music artist Nigerian singer Burna Boy as Ambassador for Youth, and Topeka K. Sam, Executive Director and Founder of The Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM), as Goodwill Ambassador for Social Justice of Incarceration Reform. 

In Sam's four-year term, she will help grow the festival's partnerships and expand on replicable social impact programs, including with End Poverty and InCarceration for Women and Girls (EPIC) and HOPE HUB, two programs of her nonprofit LOHM, as pathways to promoting social justice, a key driver for securing a sustainable creative economy around the world. LOHM focuses on creating alternatives to incarceration, decarceration and post-incarceration opportunities by providing access to resources for education, entrepreneurship, and sustainability through advocacy. 

"We are delighted to announce the festival on this special day and that it will include the upcoming Global Economy Festival Anthems – Believe, Hope and Light-  honoring youth whose parents/guardians died of COVID-19 health complications. Proceeds from the Anthems will go to not for profit agencies supporting impacted youth,” says festival CEO Giselle Alers. 

There will be three installations of the Anthem which pays tribute to youth as "Children of the Light Illuminating the Road to Healing the World. The Anthem "Believe" kicks off the festival and will be followed by Hope and Light in 2021. The creative team music composer Arturo O'Farrill and Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis and Felipe Tristan. Participating artists include Burna Boy, Bomby, Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer Carvin Haggins, and the next generation of artists Alexis Ayanna, Adam Emil and Jewels Gold. 

The festival's vision is to ignite opportunities in the creative economy for all people, in solidarity with government agencies, philanthropy, corporations, and communities, through industry, innovation and infrastructure. There is no creative future without creative people, and they need to make a living.

The festival will stream on Endavo and will be available online across social media platforms, globally