Ben @ Morocco, Peace Corps Round 2

''I like to think of those 200 million children around the world who don't have any access to primary or secondary school, as 200 million minds that can reach their full potential and become the scientists and the inventors of tomorrow, the teachers, the artists, the environmentalists of tomorrow, the doctors who can cure our illnesses, the wonder makers of tomorrow. I’d like to imagine the world in a few years from now as a big think tank of revolutionary and vital ideas generated by the children that today live in remote and vulnerable places in the world.

Que viva Colombia! (Que viva!)

I believe in humanity, and it's enormous potential, and I believe we are only at the threshold of what we can all achieve. The best is yet to come.''

The full text of Shaki's Harvard speech.

On Saturday, Shakira was named Harvard's Artist of the Year, at a ceremony at the university. On accepting the award, Shakira gave the following speech:

President Faust, Dean Smith, Dean Fitzsimmons, Professor Pfister
Dr. Counter, my dear friend Howard Buffet and, above all, the students of Harvard university.

Thank you so much for the honor you have paid me today.
I’m thrilled to be here, thank you so for such a warm welcome, I've had a lovely day here in Harvard and I feel extremely humbled

I graduated school when I was 15, and except for taking a history course at UCLA in the summer of 2008, I promise you I haven’t been in a classroom. So… as I entered the premises today I had to call my mother and tell her: hey mom guess what ! I got into Harvard! Of course she knew it was only for a day!

Now, normally when I get on stage, and for the audience’s sake and sanity I'm allowed to sing and dance ONLY.

It’s why you’ll have to forgive me for making the most of this occasion abusing the podium and sharing some of my thoughts.
Not every day I'm presented with the opportunity to talk to a group of people that soon will plant relevant ideas in the heads and hearts of generations to come.

So don’t blame me if I'd like to share with you some of the thoughts that crossed my mind on the plane ride coming here or things I've learned from people I've known through my trips while advocating for universal education in the developing world.

Now I don’t have to tell this audience about the power of education.

This is the place where the brightest and the best have come to study, to learn and to teach for well over 300 years.

Your predecessors, the graduates of this university – and a few of her drop-outs – have gone onto shape this country and our world for the better.

So you have – just like I do today in receiving this award – big shoes to fill.

But that’s a challenge you will relish. For you are not at Harvard by accident or luck. It’s your intelligence and hard work that got you here.

And there is nowhere better to help you shape your human potential than this great place of learning.

Not everyone can study at this university, of course.

But everyone, wherever they live, whatever their background, deserves the chance to make the most of his and her potential.

Now, as you will know I am certainly no Mother Teresa. And there are many worthy people who dedicate their lives to changing those of children around the world.

It is they who should be on this stage before you talking about education. But not all of them have this chance, today I do.

What I am is a little woman with a big mouth.

A woman who has been blessed with a big platform to lend her voice for those who don’t have one.

As a child of the developing world, it is my duty to use this voice in every way I can to promote the message about the power of education to change lives.

The scandal is that many millions are condemned forever to a life of poverty and segregation even before they become adults.

I saw this all around me when I was growing up in Colombia, and in Latin America, which is the most unequal region in the world. I learnt that in Latin America, as is the case right across the developing world, that if you are born poor, you will die poor.

I remember vividly growing up in my hometown of Barranquilla, I saw children near my house who were smart and vivacious with enormous talents, children who probably sang and danced much better than me, however they were living in the streets with nothing. No hope, no future.

As a child seeing all this made me sad but, more importantly, it made me angry. Later life gave me the chance to channel all that inconformity when I realized that there were solutions to these issues (and thank God because so much anger cannot live in such small body). So I soon understood that the more we talk about those things that bother us and seem impossible to be fixed the more we can fix them. No child has to die poor and unfulfilled just because he or she were born poor. I know for a fact that with a bit of effort and a ton of conviction; fate can be changed

We know that implementing universal education is hard, especially to create the political will and reform the cultures. But it can be done.

Let¹s be bold. We have the ideas, the intelligence, the human resources, governments have the money and young people have the influence. The ball is in our court.

If we all want the eradication of poverty, promoting education for all, will be the fastest vehicle to take us there.

200 million children currently live without access to primary and secondary education this can only be a synonym of hunger, resentment, violence, discrimination, war.

Education is the way to guarantee this doesn’t happen, and to ensure global security and economic development. It’s the best strategy for peace. After all isn't that what rich and poor countries both want? Investing in education for all is good business. So why wait?

I like to think of those 200 million children around the world who don't have any access to primary or secondary school, as 200 million minds that can reach their full potential and become the scientists and the inventors of tomorrow, the teachers, the artists, the environmentalists of tomorrow, the doctors who can cure our illnesses, the wonder makers of tomorrow. I’d like to imagine the world in a few years from now as a big think tank of revolutionary and vital ideas generated by the children that today live in remote and vulnerable places in the world.

I believe in humanity, and it's enormous potential, and I believe we are only at the threshold of what we can all achieve. The best is yet to come.

It is precisely in times of economic crisis like these, when we should focus on harnessing educated minds. Because it’s been historically proven that educated minds will become the foundation of wealthy societies.

But we all know that it cannot be left in the hands of governments alone, we don't have time for bureaucracy while infinite human potential goes to waste every day, and millions of children are losing the opportunity to develop their talents remaining excluded and ostracized from society.

That’s why citizen activism is so vital.

Now you might be wondering how I became so interested in the value of education. Well, I’m only a student on these issues but I am fascinated with the way investing small efforts in education can guarantee big results over a short period of time. For over 14 years we¹ve been working in Colombia hand in hand with Maria Emma Mejia through Barefoot, the foundation I established in my country when I was 18 years old, and since then we’ve been building schools in areas of extreme poverty and conflict, working with internally displaced families. We have built six state of the art schools offering support to 30,000 families and quality education as well as nutritional meals everyday to our 6,000 students, creating a comprehensive model of education in which the school becomes the center and heart of the community.

The most rewarding thing about working on this project is to see how with only two dollars a day per child. Children who could have been recruited by the militia or paramilitary groups are now on their way to college. We are happy to share that some of our students have achieved the highest national scores in State testing this year. And that is very encouraging. A few years ago we would have thought this impossible. But today we know that all these changes occur in a matter of just a few years if the investment in education is comprehensive.

We hear all the time how education transforms lives. Well, I'm telling you, I have seen it happen. Not once or twice but time and time again.

Sure, we also work in partnership with governments but if there is something I have learned these years, is that once the private sector get it's hands on a school project then the government cannot refuse to participate.

So as citizens we can only push and push our leaders to get involved with issues that are not always at the top of their political agendas.

Also I find that if wee work to inspire the younger generations they will become more and more impatient, more and more active

Speaking of youth activism, at my last performance in Madison Square Garden I remeber there were some kids that I met after the show. They handed me the usual letters which I assumed were fan letters. Instead, inside were donations to sponsor children in my country.

And like them I have met countless students that have told me how they have spent their vacations volunteering in Haiti or Colombia or el Salvador.

It is through volunteering in countries across the world how young people are making a difference.

Every day more of us understand that the world is a small neighborhood and that if there is a kid with an empty stomach in Bangladesh or Latino kid, the son or a daughter of an immigrant who can’t go to school in the United States, that kid should be a concern and a responsibility to all of us.

Also through this journey I’ve had the chance to meet with experts that have taught me amazing facts that have completely broadened my vision on the impact of education. For instance how just one year of primary education means a 10 to 20 per cent increase in wages in an adult life. And every dollar invested in early childhood development programs will give back to the state another 17 dollars..

We can’t afford to miss out on this investment. Universal education is the fuel to the engine of change, and we need to start it now.

So I promise to use my big mouth to make as loud a noise as I can and believe me i can be loud when I need to be.

But in the end, you are the people that are going to have the power to make universal education a reality and shape our world in whatever shape you want. When you leave here, you will be the policy makers, the business leaders and the educators and become extremely influential to determine the order of the world

We are already seeing your generation give a lead in pressing for democracy in the Middle East.

We need to see the same courage and commitment in ensuring every child can benefit from the transformational power of education.

You are the architects of change who can – no will - make your mark on the world just like your predecessors did.

I've been told: that the students of Harvard don't look for jobs, they create them.

So I wonder can you help the rest of us create a more just society?

I say, “yes” through your future practices.

By promoting education for all, and by giving every child the chance to make the most of their potential, you will take a huge step, as the Harvard Foundation urges, “to enhance the quality of our common life”.

Thank you so much for listening to me and my vehemence. Thank you for this honor.

And remember the ball is on your court!

See? This is why I love her... and it's not (completely) because of her body! Anyone that knows me knows I've got a thing for brunettes, not blondes so much.

Now, GET MOVIN' :

You can sponsor a child with her BF Foundation:
(''Make the BFF your BFF'' is the motto I just created for it in my head)

And/Or/ALSO :

I have two of my best friends here in Morocco that are seeking funding for their worthy projects.

''Today, in the midst of beautiful olive groves and rocky slopes we worked on the basics of wilderness first-aid with our CLIMB team. We have raised over 2/3 of our funds for our project, but we still have a ways to go. See how you can help this group of Moroccan youth climb the tallest mountain in North Africa: