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The Graham Norton Show (BBC1 - 22 June 2012), with guests Rapper Will.I.Am, Miriam Margolyes and Greg Davies, was immensely entertaining, heartwarming and risque; I hooted with laughter. I became aware of Will.I.Am as a judge/coach on The Voice, later in his performance at the Jubilee and an Olympic torch bearer; however I had no idea of just how much he is using his music and celebrity to raise money and heighten scientific literacy skills in under privileged children in the UK and the USA. He has recently donated £500,000 to the Princes Trust and raised some $7 million to establish STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) schools. This he hopes encourage children, mainly girls, to become interested in and learn science subjects, so that the next generation will be literate in science and technology subjects.
As a scientist myself (PhD Molecular Biology) one of my most passionate rants is how illiterate the political, artistic and the general population is in scientific matters. How amazing to hear how a rapper from a Los Angeles California ghetto can be so proactive in helping to raise the interests and standards in scientific education.
Now, if only I could enlist the know-how of celebrities like Will.I.Am to raise money to fund a Natural World Health Organization to become a credible and powerful force for natural health treatment approaches to rival the pharmaceutical and drug-based corporate interests. |
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