The signature sound of the Global Artivism Convening is drumming – rhythmic, rapturous drumming. Over three days in November, 2025, irresistible rhythms echo through hotel auditoriums and spill down the historic cobblestone streets of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Hundreds of artists, cultural leaders, climate advocates, and movement builders from 86 countries gathered to explore “artivism” – the fusion of artistic practice and activism as a strategy for global change.
Packed with workshops and panels, the event weaves together music, dance, and celebration, drawing inspiration from Brazil’s rich Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cultural traditions. “This is not a conference,” Global Artivism co-founder Kumi Naidoo explains. “This is a movement-building activity to help people make connections across different sectors, different disciplines.” More than that, it celebrates the central role that art and culture play in driving change.
The inspiration for Global Artivism is deeply personal for Naidoo, who is the President of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, and his partner Louisa Zondo, a lifelong human rights advocate. After the passing of their son, South African rapper Riky Rick, the couple established the Riky Rick Foundation for the Promotion of Artivism. In 2022, the Riky Rick Foundation, together with the Global Commons Alliance and the Community Arts Network, became the co-founders of the Global Artivism Initiative. A champion of art as a path to social change, Rick challenged them to think beyond technocratic climate strategies and invest in culture alongside other approaches. “He basically said, ‘one of the reasons you guys are failing is you aim all your narratives at the brain and not the heart, the body, and the soul,’” Naidoo remembers. After decades communicating in science and policy terms – an “alphabet soup” of acronyms, Naidoo says – they set out to build a new kind of movement.
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They hosted the first annual Global Artivism Convening in South Africa last year and from there, they built momentum. Today, Naidoo says, Global Artivism “is about building the community, strengthening the resources that flow to artists and cultural creators to ensure that they can reach a much larger audience than conventional mainstream activism on its own.” This year’s gathering in Salvador curated more than 80 workshops from 680 applications from around the world, with a focus on global majority voices and intersectional themes.
“I feel like with climate action, we need to see this joyful, energized movement that actually brings us back to the roots and brings us back into this Earth,” said Shilo Shiv Suleiman, founder of the Fearless Collective and Global Artivism Council member. Held shortly before COP30 in Belém, Global Artivism carried heightened urgency as world leaders converged in Brazil. Global Artivism’s programming took the opportunity to elevate voices of artists and communities most impacted by climate change, with panels like From Roots to Future, Towards COP30, which brought together female leaders from across culture, faith, sports, and climate. Drawing from Indigenous knowledge systems to youth sports, the panelists underscored a shared belief that solutions grow from the ground up when communities lead.
On the second day of the convening, participants traveled to Salvador’s historic center, a UNESCO world heritage site, Pelourinho, for a day of cultural immersion. There, 500 years of architectural history wrap around cobblestone streets, plazas, churches, and monuments. Street corners burst with life – live drumming, crafts, and textiles – rich traditions of the region’s Afro-Brazilian cultural community.
The convening’s cultural cross-pollination culminated in a live concert on an outdoor stage in Pelourinho featuring a pan-African musical ensemble, brought together by Global Artivism’s artist-in-residency program, performing alongside local Brazilian musicians. The artists had shared and learned each other’s songs, performing them for the dense, standing-room only crowd, blending rhythms and melodies seamlessly. The audience sang along in unison, deep into the night.
For the Waverley Street Foundation, a supporter of Global Artivism, cultivating community is central to building momentum for climate solutions. Caleb Zigas, program officer at Waverley Street, points out that art and culture offer a powerful way to connect people to nature and to each other. “One of the biggest revelations of Global Artivism, which seems really simple, is that joy is something that should be and needs to be weaved into every element of the work that people do in this space.”
Naidoo emphasized that Global Artivism’s role is to conduct “artivism diplomacy,” seeking philanthropic support and driving more investment in art and culture. Ultimately, the goal is to bring more people into a worldwide movement that will connect communities to a more positive vision of the future – and to meet again next year in a new place full of wonder and inspiration.
Learn more about our grantee partner, Global Artivism.
