U.S. first lady Michelle Obama launched an initiative Saturday at the Global Citizen Festival, an event aimed at raising awareness of global inequality.
Obama's new campaign, 62 Million Girls, is designed to heighten global awareness that millions of girls around the world are not receiving an education.
"I believe in the boundless promise of girls worldwide," Obama said at the festival in New York's Central Park. "Right now 62 million girls are not in school. ... They deserve the same chance to get an education as our daughters and my daughters and all of our children. Giving them that chance is a crucial target in ending global poverty."
The first lady urged people to Tweet photos of themselves with the hashtag '62MillionGirls' and state what they learned in school. She said the photographs would "show the power of education."
Obama said she learned to "speak up" in school.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafazi, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Leonardo DiCaprio, Queen Rania of Jordan, Sting and Common were among the speakers, celebrities and performers at the festival.
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to the festival attendees by a video link from the White House.
