Shawn Mendes wants no girl left behind, and for once he’s not just talking about his fanbase. Shawn played last weekend’s Global Citizen Festival in New York, where he was joined by John Legend for his song Youth. Before they performed, Shawn spoke up about the alarming lack of access to education around the world, especially for female children.

Access to quality education was only one of the important messages from stressed at the festival – organizers also encouraged attendees to reduce their use of single-use plastic items and to rally for eliminating bail bond policies that unfairly target minorities. Several performers spoke up for victims of sexual violence, including Janelle Monae, who told the audience “this past week was a brutal, brutal week for a lot of us women. So today, I’m standing here with my sisters on this stage, and with you. And, we want to send a message loud and clear to survivors here and all over the world; let’s make sure that they know that these 60,000 global citizens right here in this audience have got your back.”

Find out more about the Global Citizen movement and their quest to end extreme poverty by the year 2030 at www.globalcitizen.org.