Procter & Gamble and National Geographic’s new documentary series ACTIVATE will premiere tonight on National Geographic. The series explores extreme poverty and its root causes and shares ways people can be a force for change.
What’s happening:
- Procter & Gamble and National Geographic’s six-part docuseries ACTIVATE, premieres tonight, Thursday, September 5, in the U.S. on National Geographic.
- Co-produced by Global Citizen and RadicalMedia, each episode of the six-part series delves into a different issue connected to the root causes of poverty, including:
- Sustainable sourcing
- Criminalization of poverty
- Disaster relief
- Girls’ education
- Plastic waste
- Global water crisis
- The hour-long episodes will air weekly through October 10 in the U.S. and also on National Geographic in 172 countries and 43 languages.
- Episodes will highlight the work P&G and its brands – Tide, Always, Charmin and Head & Shoulders – are doing with many of its long-time partners, including:
- Save the Children
- World Vision
- World Wildlife Fund
- WEConnect International
- Matthew 25: Ministries
- And many others
What they’re saying:
- Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer of P&G: “P&G and our brands are committed to using our voice to address critical issues facing our world today. We’ve been working on these issues for decades and through ACTIVATE we intend to leverage our broad, global reach of nearly five billion consumers to educate and inspire global citizens.”
- Allison Tummon Kamphuis, P&G Global Program Leader for Gender Equality and CSDW: “We’re proud to work with National Geographic and Global Citizen, as well as their talented artist ambassadors and many longstanding partners who enable people all over the world to use their collective voices to inspire change.”
More about ACTIVATE:
- P&G has a rich history of leveraging its brands and its people to make the world a better place by helping to solve critical issues related to:
- Girls’ education
- Clean drinking water
- Disaster relief
- Sustainability
- Inequality
- Whether it’s the non-profit P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program, which has provided more than 15 billion liters of clean water to people in need around the world, or Always’ mission to #EndPeriodPoverty, P&G is using its voice and reach to drive meaningful change.
- In addition to P&G brands and close partners, ACTIVATE will feature Global Citizen ambassadors and advocates including:
- Hugh Jackman
- Common
- Usher
- Rachel Brosnahan
- Gayle King
- Bonang Matheba
- Darren Criss
- Pharrell Williams
- Uzo Aduba
- Becky G
- Priyanka Chopra Jonas
- ACTIVATE will premiere in the U.S. on National Geographic on Thursday, September 5 at 10/9c; check your local listings.
More about Each Episode:
ACTIVATE: Eradicating Extreme Poverty — Premieres: Thursday, September 5, 2019
- Hugh Jackman, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Becky G join Global Citizen in campaigns to push world leaders into enacting policy changes that would end extreme poverty around the globe.
- As Jackman prepares for the organization's massive Central Park festival, Becky G travels to Mexico to amplify Global Citizen's campaign to push companies to support women-owned businesses.
- Experts describe the state of extreme poverty around the world, the enormous progress that's been made in the past 20 years and innovative solutions being implemented across the globe, including P&G and its Charmin brand's responsible sourcing efforts.
ACTIVATE: Ending Cash Bail — Premieres: Thursday, September 12, 2019
- Artists and activists Common and Usher team up with Global Citizen and grassroots organizers as they attempt to achieve historic criminal justice reform by ending the use of cash bail in New York state.
- P&G’s commitment to addressing racial bias via the 2017 film, The Talk, and new film, The Look, is explored through the filmmakers who’ve recreated how bias is still encountered in the everyday experiences of African Americans.
ACTIVATE: Education Cannot Wait — Premieres: Thursday, September 19, 2019
- Emmy Award-winning actor Rachel Brosnahan teams up with Global Citizen and travels to the border of Peru to see what happens to children's education during conflicts and natural disasters.
- After an emotional experience with displaced families, Brosnahan and Global Citizen return to the U.S., where they urge Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S. to pledge millions to Education Cannot Wait, a global fund for education during crises.
- Experts describe the disproportionate impact that natural disasters and conflict have on developing countries and ways people and brands around the world, like Tide, are providing effective relief during emergencies.
ACTIVATE: Keeping Girls in School — Premieres: Thursday, September 26, 2019
- Priyanka Chopra Jonas joins Global Citizen and activists around the globe as they campaign to break down barriers to girls' education.
- Meanwhile, Gayle King and Bonang Matheba rally tens of thousands of people to call on the South African government to commit $58 million toward ending "period poverty" and providing girls with the menstrual education and resources they need to stay in school and stay confident.
- Experts describe the broad range of issues that keep girls from getting an education in developing countries, and the enormous progress that's being made around the world, like the work by feminine care product brand Always to provide free educational resources.
ACTIVATE: Ending Plastic Pollution — Premieres: Thursday, October 3, 2019
- Pharrell Williams joins Global Citizen's push to get governments, companies and individuals to solve the ocean plastic pollution crisis.
- Meanwhile, Darren Criss travels to the Philippines to witness plastic's impact on people living in extreme poverty and calls on global citizens to urge their mayors to commit their cities to zero-waste futures.
- Experts describe the disproportionate impact of plastic pollution on people in developing countries and the ways people and brands, like Head & Shoulders, are working to solve the problem around the world.
ACTIVATE: Clean Water — Premieres: Thursday, October 10, 2019
- Orange Is the New Black star Uzo Aduba joins Global Citizen as they rally millions around the world to push for clean drinking water and proper sanitation for the world's most vulnerable people.
- They travel to Aduba's parents' homeland of Nigeria, where they urge governors to commit state funds to eradicate the contaminated water and open defecation crises.
- Experts describe the effects of contaminated drinking water on people in developing countries and solutions being implemented around the world, including the P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water Program.