Celebs speak up for kids at dubai meet

dubai — Getting quality education in a safe environment is a basic right for children, international stars and leaders have said. Addressing the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on Saturday, actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra said children should not be subjected to the things that they are often subjected to.

“Considering the world today, there is a whole generation we might lose,” she said, referring to Syrian refugee children.

She said she was shaken by how “vulnerable” the refugee children are. “These are children who can immediately feel that the world has forgotten about them. Every child that I spoke to wanted to return back to Syria and rebuild it, and education is what gives them the power.”

She said there was still “hope for this generation”. “If you see the protest that happened, with what children in the US did over gun control, this is empowerment.”

Hollywood actor Charlize Theron said her foundation, the Charlie Theron Outreach programme, would be launching a scholarship fund to educate the youth in South Africa against HIV and Aids. “We are left with a ginormous number of adolescents and youth who were not getting the right information, not at home and not at school. No one was telling them how not to be HIV positive.”

Former prime minister of Australia and board chair of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Julia Gillard, said the UAE understands the importance of educating children around the world. She thanked the country for its pledge of Dh367 million to the GPE.