January 19, 2015
On Tuesday, January 19, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that WPDI Founder and CEO and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation Forest Whitaker was among a group of seventeen eminent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates appointed to help promote action to achieve the SDGs adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015.
The SDGs represent a commitment by all nations to work together to end poverty, achieve shared prosperity, build peace, and secure a life of dignity and a healthy planet for present and future generations.
Much of WPDI’s work—including concerted efforts to promote education and literacy, to empower women and men with Internet and connectivity, and to advocate for non-violence and the end to conflicts—falls squarely in line with several of the new SDGs.
The seventeen Advocates will leverage their unique standing and leadership to promote the SDGs as part of an ambitious and transformative global agenda. They are to support the Secretary-General in his efforts to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
“I am truly honored and humbled to have been named by the Secretary-General to advocate for this important cause,” Mr. Whitaker said of his appointment. “Through my work with WPDI and UNESCO, I am eager to join forces with this diverse group of leaders and humanitarians in advancing the SDGs and the global agenda for sustainable development.”
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg will co-chair the group of SDG Advocates. In addition to Mr. Whitaker, the other appointed members include:
- Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
- Mr. Richard Curtis, Screenwriter, Producer and Film Director
- Ambassador Dho Young-Shim, Chairperson, United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty Foundation
- Ms. Leymah Gbowee, Director, Gbowee Peace Foundation
- Mr. Jack Ma, Founder and Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group
- Mrs. Graça Machel, President, Foundation for Community Development
- Mr. Leo Messi, World Renowned Footballer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
- Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser
- Ms. Alaa Murabit, Founder, The Voice of Libyan Women
- Mr. Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever
- Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Colombia University
- Ms. Shakira Mebarak, Artist, Advocate and Founder, Pies Descalzos Foundation, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
- Professor Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank