Fresh from being named Humanitarian of the Year by Harvard University (for her extensive charity work), Rihanna is now tweeting at world leaders asking them to agree to fund education around the world. According to the Global Citizen campaign (a worldwide movement for social action), “263 million children and youth are currently out of school,” and Rihanna is working with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to change that.
Acing her role as Ambassador for the GPE, Rihanna first tweeted at her fans, saying “Hey Navy – step up w/ me and be a @GlblCtzn ! Demand that #G20 leaders agree in July to support 4 @GPforEducation”. Riri came through on her promise immediately by tweeting political leaders in Argentina, Canada, France, and Germany about their commitment to funding education at the G20 summit in Hamburg this July.
“I know you had our backs during the #GlobalCitizen Festival,” she tweeted at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking, “will you recommit Canada to #FundEducation?”. Trudeau responded a couple of days later (yes, days) confirming “we’ve got your back!” and shouting out Canadian MP Marie-Claude Bibeau “who made sure girls’ education is in our feminist international development policy”.
.@rihanna we’ve got your back! Thanks to @mclaudebibeau who made sure girls’ education is in our feminist international development policy.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 26, 2017
Rihanna also got a response from Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, who tweeted “Hola @Rihanna! Education is in the central core of our political aims. Only education can change the world.” And German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert replied, “Hi @Rihanna, education is a key area of German development policy. We have nearly doubled spending since 2013. Thanks for spreading the word!” She has not yet had a response from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Rihanna has been an ambassador for the GPE since 2016, with a partnership between her charity Clara Lionel Foundation and the GPE being formed “to advocate for strong education systems that ensure the world’s poorest kids can get a quality education.” Check out a video of her trip to Malawi in January 2017, where she met children in under-resourced schools, below.
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Main image via Global CItizen on YouTube