Humanitarians enlist entertainers and creators to reach impassioned youth during United Nations week

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. "This is just a person talking.” “But it’s someone you can relate with, so there’s a level of trust,” added Drea Okeke, a Nigerian-American engineer turned social media star with over 6 million TikTok followers. Young people with large online followings can be good “placeholders” for older institutions seeking relevance with new generations, said Wawa Gatheru. “Content creator” lanyards hung from some Clinton Global Initiative attendees’ necks in a new feature of the yearly gathering hosted by the former First Family's philanthropic foundation. Rhimes, the award-winning showrunner behind television hits “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” said that “if you can entertain people, you can teach them anything.” Supplementary videos on apps like TikTok, she said, can reach people that the original content was “never going to reach.” “If you can place an emotional narrative on any issue — if you can put a face to it, if you can create a character for it, if you can show a struggle that inspires — you can really grab someone’s attention,” Rhimes said.