Beyoncé’s UN video prompts humanitarian outpouring

Beyonce Knowles. AP FILE PHOTO

UNITED NATIONS—A music video by pop singer Beyoncé helped inspire one billion messages for World Humanitarian Day on Sunday, which the United Nations said was a social media record.

The singer recorded the music video, “I Was Here,” for the UN campaign to generate one billion messages encouraging people to do a good deed.

“The World Humanitarian Day 2012 campaign has made social media history by sharing more than one billion messages of hope,” the UN said in a statement.

The UN launched its campaign on August 2 to collect the messages, which were distributed on Sunday in honor of humanitarian workers.

The campaign numbers around the world soared after the release of Beyoncé’s video on Saturday and the message spread rapidly among her fans.

Valerie Amos, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, praised the “amazing work” of the singer in taking the UN’s cause further.

Dressed in a white, floor-length gown, Beyoncé sang the song for the video at the UN General Assembly. The video shows her singing at the UN headquarters and scenes from recent disasters.

“This is our time to leave our mark on the world and show that we were here and we care,” Beyoncé said in a statement.