Artists get behind agit8 , the ONE campaign designed to galvanize action against poverty.

Ending extreme poverty in the world seems like an impossible task. But with Bono and a little help from his friends, the end is in sight.

In anticipation of the G8 summit next week, the rocker's advocacy organization,  ONE, kicks off agit8, a week-long music campaign designed to put pressure on policymakers to take action against extreme poverty. Agit8 recruited the help of at least 50 artists, ranging from U2 and Sting to Mumford & Sons and Ed Sheeran, to release music videos of themselves doing covers of protest songs.

"Music is a powerful tool in galvanizing people around an issue," says a statement from Sheeran, who recorded a new version of Bob Dylan's Masters of War. "There's no better way to get your point across than to put it in a beautiful song." Mumford & Sons teamed up with Elvis Costello for a video. Tom Morello threw in his star power, along with Green Day and Kid Rock. Macklemore & Lewis are performing their own song, Same Love, as well as Sting, who is performing The Police's Driven to Tears.

"We'll use amazing protest songs performed by contemporary artists to get people to take action," says Jeff Davidoff, chief marketing officer of the ONE campaign, who also masterminded agit8. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, London's Tate Modern museum will be running a 30-minute film about music and protests, which harnessed actors Colin Firth and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The music videos and the film will be projected onto the museum facade.

It's not necessary to physically be in London to see the magic happen. Fans can watch the music videos, film and live performances on one.org/protestsongs.

The hope is that U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron will be convinced to lead the charge at next week's G8 summit (June 17-18). "Extreme poverty (defined by the World Bank as living on $1.25 or less a day) has been halved in the last 20 years, from 43% to 21%," says Davidoff.

But with 20,000 children dying every day from poverty and hunger, there's still a long way to go. "It's possible that it could be virtually eradicated by 2030, but that will only come through sheer force of will," says Davidoff.

Getting the attention of younger generations is key to achieving that goal.

"I was talking to a group of kids and asked, 'Who here knows Bob Dylan's Masters of War?' No one," says Davidoff. "Then I asked, 'Who here follows Ed Sheeran on Twitter?' All hands shot up."

A few notable artists participating:

Chris Daughtry, Pride

Ed Sheeran, Masters of War

Elvis Costello and Mumford & Sons, The Ghost of Tom Joad

fun., The Decline

Kid Rock, For What It's Worth

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Same Love

Sting, Driven to Tears

Tom Morello, Flesh Shapes the Day

will.i.am, It's a New Day

UPDATE: LISTEN, WATCH AND SHARE   If you click on the link to ONE you can "discover the songs  that changed the world"

http://www.usatoday.com