BTS Invited to Speak at the United Nations

South Korean group BTS add yet another landmark to their impressive list of achievements with an invitation from the United Nations to speak at their headquarters. The septet will attend the launch of the United Nations Children’s Fund’s ‘Generation Unlimited’ program on Monday, September 24th (September 25th, IST) in New York. The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly will begin the next day.

According to UNICEF’s website, the Generation Unlimited program is “dedicated to increasing opportunities and investments for children and young people aged between 10 and 24” by giving them the skills they need for securing a bright future. Some of the things the program will focus on include creating a healthy environment for children who need it, providing  education (including out-of-school opportunities and mentorships,) teaching children different languages and types of advanced technology and several other skills to equip them to join the highly qualified “workforce of the future.”

BTS are the first K-pop act to be invited to speak at the UN General Assembly and will reportedly deliver a three-minute presentation at the event. Several high authority figures and heads of state, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Executive Director of UNICEF Henrietta Fore and South Korea’s first lady Kim Jung-sook, are expected to attend. BTS will be the first South Korean musicians to speak at the UN. In November last year the group had announced a partnership with the Korean Committee of UNICEF to launch the ‘Love Yourself’ #ENDviolence campaign, pledging a portion of their physical album sales to the cause. According to the campaign’s website as of this moment, the amount raised equals KRW 1,154,593,599 (INR 7,40,52,169.)

The group are currently in the U.S. for their Love Yourself World Tour and are scheduled to make appearances on popular TV shows like Good Morning America and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, among others. BTS also recently became the first K-pop group to sell out the 41,000+ seater Citi Field Stadium in New York.