One of the saddest truths that the society is facing today is the fact that millions of children do not have access to basic education all over the world. As a matter of fact, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics has revealed that 115 million youth still lack basic reading and writing skills in 2015.
Based on the data collated by UNESCO Institute for Statistics in 2015, there are 757 million adults, including 115 million youth who are still unable to read or write a simple sentence and almost 70 percent of them are female. Fortunately, Miss Universe 2012 winner Olivia Culpo has been recently named as an ambassador for Pencils of Promise (PoP), a non-profit organization established in 2008 that aims "to build schools" and to offer "educational opportunities in the developing world."
So excited to announce our newest PoP Global Ambassador @oliviaculpo! https://t.co/qoYPiMcIGN pic.twitter.com/ILxkRV5Tbv
— Pencils of Promise (@PencilsOfPromis) July 2, 2016
Olivia Culpo As A PoP Ambassador
Olivia Culpo is no stranger when it comes to giving back to the community. She has long been working with various charities during her reign as the Miss Universe 2012 winner, not to mention her collaborations with Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Many Hopes Foundation.
Being a PoP ambassador, however, surprised the 24-year-old beauty queen. In an exclusive interview, she admitted that she was taken by surprise when the Pop team asked to be their ambassador.
"As soon as I saw firsthand what they were doing and heard their mission I wanted to get more involved," Nick Jonas' former girlfriend told E! News. "I was in Guatemala at a school ground breaking ceremony at the PoP team surprised me and asked me to be an ambassador. I jumped up and down."
Olivia Culpo Fights For Basic Education
It's already a given fact that basic education is a fundamental human right and Olivia Culpo firmly believes it. She also believes that education is essential in reaching one's true potential.
"I love working with children and I understand how important education is to reach your true potential," Culpo added. "I am shocked by the degree of illiteracy there is in the world. I believe basic education is fundamental right. Everyone deserves that right. PoP is helping people help themselves and that really speaks to me."
Aside from Olivia Culpo, pop singer Justin Bieber has also been part of the organization. In fact, Bieber has been donating $1 for every ticket sold at his "My World" tour in 2010, the "Believe" tour in 2012 and the current "Purpose" tour to Pencils of Promise.
Despite Olivia Culpo and Justin Bieber's collaboration with PoP to fight illiteracy, UNESCO is still urging for a greater commitment to establish sustainable goals in order to achieve "literacy and numeracy" by 2030. Even though the literacy rates have improved, UNESCO's data still highlighted the fact that the goal of the international community to reduce the illiteracy by half was not met.
UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon Calls For Educational Opportunities To Eradicate Violent Extremism
Meanwhile, United Nations (UN) chief Ban Ki Moon recently urged the international community to fight against terrorism. According to ABC News, the UN chief underscored the need of eradicating violent extremism by empowering the youth, developing educational opportunities, embracing human rights and launching a conflict resolution as the key counter-terrorism factors.
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