If you thought Rihanna’s trip to France this past week was just to promote her new movie Valerian, think again. Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron on July 26, the starlet took the opportunity to discuss global education and the role France could potentially play in it.
Noted as the global ambassador for the Global Partnership for Education, the singer and founder of the Clara Lionel Foundation — which funds worldwide education and health programs for impoverished communities — has long pushed for the leaders of several countries to support education funding efforts.
Reaching out for a call to action via her Twitter account, the star has already received support from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany’s government spokesman Steffan Seibert and Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri. Her meeting with President Macron is the first one known to public since the call to action began.
“We focused on the topic of education from global aspects, and we will make a very big announcement this coming September,” Rihanna briefly relayed to journalists after the Elysee Palace meeting in Paris, according to Reuters.
Additionally, both the President and RiRi took to their respective Twitter accounts to show their appreciation and commitment toward the initiative afterwards.
With 264 million children being without education, the support of global leaders will assist in the Global Partnership for Education’s “replenishment 2020” initiative, which aims to raise $2 billion a year by 2020. According to the organization, these funds will support 89 countries where 78 percent of the world’s out-of-school population reside.
Currently, the Clara Lionel Foundation funds scholarship programs for citizens and natives of Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana and Jamaica who want to attend college in the United States.
Here’s to Rihanna putting in the “work” needed to change the world.