UN Goodwill Ambassador and Colombian pop singer Shakira made a plea for children's education worldwide at this week’s Israel's third annual Presidential Conference in Jerusalem.
She opened the conference by saying that the Holy Land was the "perfect place to talk about how urgent it is to invest in education."
"The most crucial decision we can make for a better tomorrow is how we educate our children," she said, speaking alongside Israeli President Shimon Peres.
"How wonderful it would be if the world would act like a team. We have so many challenges ahead of us, so many problems to solve," she said. "This is the time to behave like a team, to wear the same T-shirts and to win the match of discrimination, to win the match of inequality and segregation."
Shakira, 34, whose hits include "Hips Don't Lie," ''Whenever, Wherever," and "Waka, Waka" dance, made famous at last year's World Cup in South Africa, has established a number of charitable foundations dedicated toward advancing education.
Born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in Colombia, she has Lebanese roots.
She had been urged by many of her Facebook followers not to attend the conference as a political statement in support of Palestinians. She was instead celebrated by Peres for her nonpartisan pursuit of change.
“You don’t belong to any camp, but the camp of peace,” he said.
It was her first visit to Israel.
The Presidential Conference is an event that attracted 1,700 figures from outside Israel.