Angelina Jolie travelled to London to carry out an engagement dear to her heart. The Hollywood actress and philanthropist, who regularly campaigns for women's rights, was tasked with opening the Centre on Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics – the first of its kind in the UK.
Attending the opening with her close friend and First Secretary of State William Hague, Angelina showed her support for the new project by travelling from her native US to London.
"I am excited at the thought of all the students in years to come who will study in this new centre," Angelina revealed in a statement. "There is no stable future for a world in which crimes committed against women go unpunished."
Angelina Jolie and William Hague
The Unbroken star, 39, added: "We need the next generation of educated youth with inquisitive minds and fresh energy, who are willing not only to sit in the classroom but to go out into the field and the courtrooms and to make a decisive difference."
The new centre will aim to educate students on preventing crimes of sexual violence, holding perpetrators to account and protecting the rights of survivors.
From 2016 the facility, which has the backing of US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, will offer a post-graduate teaching programme in Women, Peace and Security, leading to an MSc degree.
Angelia Jolie with Brad Pitt and William Hague in 2014
This is not the first collaboration Angelina and Mr Hague have formed. In 2012, the pair co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, with the hope of supporting survivors and increasing the number of perpetrators held to account.
Angelina's visit to London comes after the actress made a trip to Northern Iraq last month, in her role as special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The mum-of-six visited a Kurdish refugee camp in Dohuk and spoke to families who have been displaced by conflict.
Giving a speech to the hundreds of refugees and politicians who had gathered to welcome her, Angelina started by saying: "Since I was last here in Iraq, another two million people have been forced from their homes. Mostly in the last six months – this time Iraqi citizens. Too many innocent people are paying the price of the conflict in Syria and the spread of extremism. The international community has to step up and do more."
