(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-30 09:13

Pop singer Shakira during a meeting with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at
City Hall in New York, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. [Agencies]

 

After getting hundreds of pledges to tackle the world's problems at his philanthropic summit this past week, former President Bill Clinton is doing what any good host would: He's throwing a party.

Music, celebrity and politics were mixing Saturday night at Harlem's Apollo Theatre, where Clinton was welcoming guests Bono, Chris Rock, Shakira and Alicia Keyes for a planned roundtable discussion on youth activism.

They were expected to take questions from a mostly youthful audience, then give up the stage to performances by hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean and soulful singer Keyes.

The evening includes the announcement of the Clinton Global Initiative's effort to involve college students in youth activism. The program's first youth summit, called CGI U, is planned for next year at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Like the three-day Clinton Global Initiative philanthropic summit this past week, the college version aims to bring together attendees to tackle global issues like sustainable development and poverty.

At this week's event, participants including heads of state, celebrities and business executives made 245 pledges on efforts such as treating neglected tropical diseases, protecting forests and enabling children to go to school for the first time.

Many of the celebrities expected to be on hand Saturday night had already made promises this past week at the summit.

Shakira said she would commit $40 million to help Peru and Nicaragua through ALAS, a coalition of artists and intellectuals committed to social change in Latin America.

MTV, which is partnering with the Clinton initiative on the youth activism summit, was to broadcast Saturday's event on several of its networks and online at its recently launched Think.MTV.com Web site.