By Danelzo
In February, Grammy Award-winning singer, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was awarded the “2011 Artist of the Year” from the Harvard Foundation. She was honored because of her “distinguished history of creativity,” and for her charitable efforts in making a difference in the world. At the award ceremony she spoke about her concerns in America for immigrant children. She mentioned US bills targeted towards Latinos which will make it illegal for immigrant children to receive a proper education. Shakira is strongly fighting against these bills, and feels confident that as the awareness of this problem grows the greater opportunity for ‘justice’ the Latino community will have in the US. After accepting her award she encouraged the student body of Harvard to have a strong influence to improve education in developing countries. She challenged the Harvard students to let others reach their potential because everyone deserves a chance to grow as a person through education.
In February, Grammy Award-winning singer, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was awarded the “2011 Artist of the Year” from the Harvard Foundation. She was honored because of her “distinguished history of creativity,” and for her charitable efforts in making a difference in the world. At the award ceremony she spoke about her concerns in America for immigrant children. She mentioned US bills targeted towards Latinos which will make it illegal for immigrant children to receive a proper education. Shakira is strongly fighting against these bills, and feels confident that as the awareness of this problem grows the greater opportunity for ‘justice’ the Latino community will have in the US. After accepting her award she encouraged the student body of Harvard to have a strong influence to improve education in developing countries. She challenged the Harvard students to let others reach their potential because everyone deserves a chance to grow as a person through education.
This is a strong statement by Shakira, especially with the anti-immigration bills creating a buzz throughout the US. Shakira is a credible and great representative on these issues. She is a celebrity figure with a positive image who knows the struggles the Latino community has faced in America. What is great about her involvement in this issue is that she is not only focused on the US, but the world as a whole. She wants a fair chance for everyone to receive an education. In the big picture of things, this is an important aspect because of the way our world is developing into a global community. We as a global community need to educate all in order to unite and function as one, especially with the new technologies and the transitions into a global economy. It is great that a celebrity icon like Shakira is raising awareness of global education issues and making a difference in the world.
