Thursday 1 March 2012

Lady Gaga launches her Born This Way Foundation



Singer aims to empower young people and to end bullying
Lady Gaga chose the setting of Harvard University on Wednesday (29 February) to officially launch the Born This Way Foundation, an anti-bullying effort that aims to empower young people.

The singer was accompanied at the launch by her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, who is the foundation's co-founder as well as Oprah Winfrey and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

The foundation is named after Gaga's 2011 hit song which has become something of an unofficial anthem for gay pride.

Said Gaga at the launch: 'I want it to be part of the natural fabric of schooling, so that someone knows that it is not OK to be intolerant of your children, it is not OK to be unaccepting, it is not OK to be violent because you don’t understand. If you teach your kids to love everyone, hopefully that will, over time, branch out.”

According to the foundation's website, its mission is to create a safe place to celebrate individuality, to teach advocacy, promote civic engagement and encourage self-expression, and to provide ways to implement solutions and impact local communities.
'If you have revolutionary potential, you must make the world a better place and use it,' Gaga said. 'This is about transformative change in culture. I believe that human kind, as a whole, can change the world.'

Specific programs are expected to be announced soon.

Gaga became very vocal about her anti-bullying stance following the suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, one of her LGBT fans in 2011.

Rodemeyer was 14-years-old when he took his own life as a result of bullying due to his sexuality. In an emotional series of comments on her Twitter account following her death Gaga wrote: 'The past days I've spent reflecting, crying, and yelling. I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someones life.'
She even met with President Barack Obama to discuss anti-bullying legislation following Rodemeyer's death.

The singer called the launch 'one of the best days of my life.'
Below is video of a portion of the launch where Gaga answers questions from E!television personality David Burtka:

 Article via http://www.gaystarnews.com/

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