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The singer Akon was born in the United States, but spent his early years in Dakar, Senegal, with no electricity or running water. Now he's set up a Solar Academy in Bamako, Mali, as part of his efforts to bring electricity to 600 million people in rural communities across Africa. He'll be speaking to the Paris climate change conference about the importance of empowering the people to improve their infrastructure. (Photo: Akon in October 2015) (Credit: Casey Curry/Invision/AP)