Emma Watson, DiCaprio among stars using celebrity to boost causes

Emma Watson seen with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. | Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Over the weekend, a number of celebrities used their high-profile status to bring attention to causes near and dear to them.

“Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson, a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, launched the new “He For She” campaign by addressing the U.N. about the issue of gender equality. Using the hashtag #heforshe, Watson said she hopes this will be a “solidarity moment for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other of humanity for the entirety of humanity.” Watson, who graduated from Brown University last May, received a standing ovation for her U.N. speech.

†Also in New York, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, Sting and Al Gore were among the estimated 300,000 who marched through Manhattan in the “People’s Climate March.” It was timed to bring focus to the big United Nations climate change summit that is happening Tuesday.

Similar marches about the importance of the climate change issue also took place over the weekend in London, Paris, Melbourne and even Papua New Guinea.