Will.i.am supports the 100,000 Strong Initiative, will headline a concert in Beijing promoting US-China exchange.

On July 29, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Will.i.am in Washington DC, where they discussed the importance of educational and cultural ties between the United States and China.

“In order to become responsible global citizens, young people need to experience the world around them,” Will.i.am said. “Kids from underserved communities rarely have the opportunity to study and travel abroad, and we want to change that. We must make sure that American students have the cultural awareness and skills necessary to succeed in a global economy.”

The Black Eyed Peas’ frontman also agreed to headline a concert in Beijing, in celebration of U.S.-China educational and cultural exchanges.  It will include performances by Will.i.am and other American and Chinese pop stars in promoting the 100,000 Strong Initiative. The concert is being organized by Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA), a U.S. non-profit organization that offers scholarships to American students from low-income families for language and culture studies in China.

The concert will take place towards the end of the year, and all funds raised in association with it will be used to support China study abroad programs for underserved American students.

Read the State Department story here.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. State Department.