Oscar winning actress Hilary Swank took part in the opening ceremony for the inaugural Blue Planet Run, which took place last weekend, in front of the United Nations building, New York.

The event aims to raise funds and global awareness for safe drinking water problems. Right now, around 1.1 billion people don't have access to clean drinking water.

Hilary Swank held a speech, in which she said that safe drinking water is a problem we all face and have to work together to solve, even if we are used to taking it for granted. She also mentioned the 20 runners, who she called "the real heroes", who will spend the next 95 days running the longest ever relay around the globe.

Their effort will cross 16 countries, across Europe and Asia, finishing in Beijing. The run is reminding ordinary people about the importance of water in our lives, and how they can help in alleviating the burden placed on the over a billion people who don't have access to water sources.