Here’s How Rihanna Is Making Education Better for Young People
Rihanna is a woman of many talents, and the DGAF confidence she shows through her music, fashion, and beauty lines is always inspiring. Even more inspiring is her insistence on using her platform to help others, from simply taking time to talk a fan through a breakup to the philanthropic endeavors that recently landed her a Harvard Humanitarian of the Year award. Now, Rih’s on a mission to make education better funded for kids around the world, and this past weekend she used her 74 million-follower Twitter account to hold world leaders accountable to the issue as well.
🇨🇦 @JustinTrudeau I know you had our backs during the #GlobalCitizen Festival, will you recommit Canada to #FundEducation?
— Rihanna (@rihanna) June 23, 2017
🇫🇷 bonjour @EmmanuelMacron, will France commit to #FundEducation?
— Rihanna (@rihanna) June 23, 2017
Germany, I'm checking in to see where we are on the commitment to #FundEducation w/ @GPforEducation? @regsprecher, I'm depending on you!😊 🇩🇪
— Rihanna (@rihanna) June 23, 2017
hey there @mauriciomacri, what's your plan for Argentina to commit to #FundEducation? 🇦🇷
— Rihanna (@rihanna) June 23, 2017
These and more leaders meet for their next G20 summit in July to discuss the world’s current issues, and Rihanna, together with the Global Partnership for Education, wants to make sure that education funding is on the itinerary. “We need the G20 communique, the official document that captures the G20’s promises and agenda for the coming year, to include a commitment by G20 leaders to increase, prioritize and look for innovative ways to finance education,” says the Global Citizen statement on the initiative. “By educating every child, the world will become more healthy, prosperous and safe.” There are 263 million children out of school around the world, according to Global Citizen.
Rihanna and her “Navy” of fans got results, and Trudeau, Macri, and Seibert responded.
.@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
Hi @Rihanna, education is a key area of German development policy. We have nearly doubled spending since 2013.Thanks for spreading the word! https://t.co/ff4QX1rb0s
— Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecher) June 24, 2017
Hola @Rihanna! Education is in the central core of our political aims. Only education can change the world. @EstebanBullrich 🇦🇷 https://t.co/T49GIB0QXo
— Mauricio Macri (@mauriciomacri) June 24, 2017
This isn’t the first time Rihanna has been an advocate for better education opportunities. Earlier this year, she spent a week in Malawi visiting under-resourced schools to get a better idea of what they need to succeed.
And last year, again as part of her Clara Lionel Foundation (which nabbed her the Humanitarian Award), she started a scholarship to get citizens or natives of Brazil, Barbados, Cuba, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, and Jamaica to US colleges.
Rihanna and the Global Partnership for Education hope to get G20 leaders to commit to putting $3.1 billion into education between 2018 and 2020. Rih is not only working to make the world better for so many kids who deserve better opportunities, but with a fan base as dedicated as her #Navy, she’s surely influencing many others to make meaningful contributions where they can too.
What do you think of Rihanna’s charitable work? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photos via Bryan Bedder, Christopher Polk/Getty)