Shakira, Alejandro Sanz and 5 Latin American presidents unite for a cause Thursday September 25, 2008 4:00pm EST According to Peopleenespanol.com, the singers organized a round table discussion in New York to ask government officials to make education for children under 6 years of age a priority. Shakira and Alejandro Sanz managed to unite five presidents including Mexican (Felipe Calderon), Argentinian (Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner), El Salvadoran (Antonio Saca), Paraguayan (Fernando Lugo) and Panamanian (Martin Torrijos) in a forum. The University of Columbia in New York hosted the event called The Children of Latin American: A Future Without Poverty, which was carried out in the United Nations. There, the Colombian and Spanish singers represented the ALAS foundation and managed to united the five presidents to work on way to improve education among children under 6 years of age, and end poverty. “Kids in Latin America are counting on us," said Shakira. “Offer them an education early on to end the cycle of poverty." “Shakira and Alejandro's attitudes and hearts are a refreshing perspective," said the former president of Paraguay, an ex bishop. “I think Paraguay need some new wings if it wants to fly happily," he said to a crowd of celebrities including Sammy Sosa and Ruben Blades. In 1997, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation. It is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. It was funded by Shakira and other international groups and individuals. The name of the foundation is taken from Shakira's third studio album called Pies Descalzos, released in 1995. During her career, Shakira has performed at a large number of benefit concerts. In 2002 she sang at a Party in the Park concert fundraising for dsf Prince's Trust. That same year she performed at Divas Live which support VH1's Save the Music Foundation. On July 2, 2005 she performed her hits "Whenever, Wherever" and "La Tortura" on the Live 8 benefit concert at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris. On July 7, 2007, the singer opened the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg. Her set included "Don't Bother", "Inevitable", "Dia Especial" (with Gustavo Cerati) and "Hips Don't Lie". Shakira also performed at the "Clinton Global Initiative", where she performed her hits "Underneath Your Clothes", "Inevitable" and "Hips Don't Lie". On May 17, 2008 Shakira and twenty other Latin American and Spanish artists performed in Buenos Aires and Mexico City to raise money for Shakira's Latin America in Solidarity Action (ALAS) charity. Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is one of their global representatives. "Shakira, like all our Goodwill Ambassadors, was chosen based on her compassion, her involvement in global issues, her deep commitment to helping children, and her appeal to young people around the world. We're very pleased to have Shakira join the UNICEF family. I know she'll help bring UNICEF's mission to the audience who will have the most impact on our future – young people themselves", said UNICEF's Executive Director Carol Bellamy. On April 3, 2006, Shakira was honored at a United Nations ceremony for creating the Pies Descalzos Foundation. At the event, the singer said, "Let's not forget that at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America." Shakira was recently ranked at number 48 on the list of Top 50 Most Charitable Celebrities by OK! magazine. It reported that she donates approximately $55,000 to charity yearly. On September 28, 2007 at the Clinton Global Initiative, it was revealed that Shakira donated a massive $40 million to help the victims of natural disasters. An additional $5 million will be donated to four Latin American countries, to be spent on education and health. The charity was able to collect US$ 200 million from philanthropists Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man, and Howard Buffett, son of U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett, the singer announced on April 15, 2008. Shakira served as the Honorary Chairperson for "Action Week" 2008 (April 21-27). The event is sponsored by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), to generate awareness about the Education for All Act. She spoke with the U.S. Congress, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and World Bank President Robert Zoellick to promote a move towards Global Education. Angelina Jolie served as last year's chair.