Pharrell Williams Teams Up with United Nations for International Happiness Day

Pharrell Williams has partnered up with the United Nations for the third annual International Day of Happiness this Friday, March 20.

The organization’s “Happy” day will place “an emphasis on reaching out to young people and engaging them on the issue of climate change,” according to a UN press release.

Specifically, Pharrell will help the UN Foundation gather signatures on its Live Earth petition ahead of a planned climate change conference in Paris this December.

“2015 is a critical year of opportunity for global action to achieve the future we want,” Kathy Calvin, president and CEO of the UN Foundation, said in a statement. “For health and economic development – for the happiness of every person – we must use smart new ways to address climate change.”

As part of the day’s festivities, Pharrell will host a global online “Happy Party,” where supporters can upload photos of themselves that will be turned into a massive composite GIF set to the tune of Pharrell’s 2014 smash hit “Happy.”

“In a year where there is so much turmoil in the world, from social conflict to climate change, we need moments to stop and celebrate happiness,” Pharrell said in a statement. “Protecting our planet is fundamental to the pursuit of human happiness and that is why we have chosen to support Live Earth’s movement to raise a billion voices for climate action. We believe that happiness can change the world.”

Other organizations participating in the International Day of Happiness include Pandora, which will offer a special Pharrell-curated mixtape for the occasion, and MixRadio, who brought on global music stars like Ed Sheeran, AR Rahman, David Guetta and John Legend to contribute one song that makes them happy to a special radio playlist.

Additionally, Pharrell will be on hand to light up the Empire State Building yellow on Friday afternoon. Joining Pharrell will be Live Earth’s Kevin Wall and Aaron Grosky, the UN Foundation’s Aaron Sherinian, as well as a representative from the United Nations.

At the Davos Economic Forum in January, Pharrell announced he would join forces with Al Gore for the second iteration of Live Earth, a series of concerts that will take place simultaneously around the globe to raise awareness of climate change issues. The concerts will reportedly take place across all seven continents on June 18.