Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter & More to Join United Nations on Human Rights Day

Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter, Rob Thomas, Pierce Brosnan, One Republic, Wiz Khalifa, Boyz II Men, Alyssa Milano, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne and Margaret Cho are among major celebrities joining the United Nations on Human Rights Day, December 10, to praise tech developers innovating solutions that help the world's most vulnerable people impacted by the climate crisis.

In the 24-hour global social Media Blitz, the recording artists and actors aim to collectively reach a social voice of over 200 million followers on behalf of United Nations Human Rights and the Call for Code initiative created by David Clark, CEO of David Clark Cause, with the support of Founding Partner IBM, and Affiliate Partner The Linux Foundation. Since Lady Gaga made a personal video appeal urging 'tech rock stars' to enlist in the Call for Code Global Challenge, developers and innovators from over 180 countries have participated in what has become the largest tech for good initiative in history.

"Our celebrity coalition continues to help raise global awareness for United Nations Human Rights and Call for Code as we work to reframe climate change as a major human rights issue. By celebrating #TechforGood innovation that promotes climate justice, they are helping to inspire developers and innovators to use their time and talent to answer the call," said Clark.

This week Call for Code also announced the 2022 Global Prize winners that innovated solutions to accelerate sustainability and combat climate change with open source-powered technology. The top prize has been awarded to GardenMate, a team from Augustana University which created an app that uses IBM Watson to connect gardeners with excess produce to people in need.

"IBM and Call for Code have empowered developers to take on the challenge of tackling the world's biggest problems, such as fighting pollution and food insecurity," said Kate Woolley, general manager, IBM Ecosystem. "This year's Call for Code demonstrates the impact developers can have working with our Ecosystem partners to help affect change and create a better future through the use of technologies such as Hybrid Cloud and AI."

About

Developers have revolutionized the way people live and interact with virtually everyone and everything. Where most people see challenges, developers see possibilities. That's why David Clark, the CEO of David Clark Cause, created Call for Code in 2018, and launched it alongside Founding Partner IBM and global partner United Nations Human Rights. This $30 million global initiative is a rallying cry to developers to use their mastery of the latest technologies to drive positive and long-lasting change across the world through code. The Call for Code community includes United Nations Human Rights, Linux Foundation, Slack, Clinton Global Initiative University, Arrow Electronics, EY, Intuit, Persistent Systems, Ingram Micro, New Relic, BeMyApp, Clemson University, EMARATSEC, Emirates Digital Association for Women, Kasten by Veeam, Manush Labs, Morgan Stanley, NYU Abu Dhabi, Optics Boss, Samsung Electronics, Sustainable Practices, Teach For All, and Women in AI MENA. Visit: callforcode.org