Rihanna has called upon Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop to stump up a further $200 million towards the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a massive initiative the musician represents as a global ambassador.
Taking to Twitter during GPE’s conference in Senegal, which aims to promote the importance of education in developing nations, Rihanna said it’d be an especially good time for Australia to contribute, considering our nation’s recent election to the UN Human Rights Council.
hi @JulieBishopMP & @TurnbullMalcolm will you step up w/ a 🇦🇺 $200M pledge to #FundEducation at the @GPforEducation conference in Senegal tomorrow? Kick off your 1st year on the #HumanRightsCouncil by giving the universal human right to education! 📚🌏 @claralionelfdn @glblctzn
— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 1, 2018
It is unclear if the Australian government has sent a delegation to the conference, but we’ve been a fund partner since 2008.
But GPE’s lofty goals require further investment from donor nations, hence RiRi’s callout to the top levels of our government.
Australia’s link to the fund is more than financial, too. Former PM Julia Gillard serves as chair of the Board of Directors, and was on deck to welcome Rihanna to the fold in 2016.
We won’t give up until every child is in school and learning. Welcome to the @GPforEducation team, @rihanna! https://t.co/kHnIBPpTc2 pic.twitter.com/Cy0QIdNDLT
— Julia Gillard (@JuliaGillard) September 23, 2016
The GPE conference, co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Senegalese President Macky Sall, will wrap up today.