UN Agencies Use ‘Star Power’ to Push Causes from War on Drugs to Building Better Cities
New York, May 16 2006 5:00PM
Using the worlds of sports, academia and music to amplify their messages, United Nations agencies have selected a series
of ‘stars’ in each area to help tackle issues ranging from crime and drug abuse by the young to the battle against child
exploitation to urban planning.
UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa has named Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah,
world champion rally driver and Olympic shooter, as the first Global Sport Fund (GSF) Ambassador.
The Global Sport Fund was set up by UNODC with funding from the Qatar National Olympic Committee to help prevent
vulnerable young people from being sucked into crime and drug abuse. As a GSF ambassador, the 36-year-old Al-Attiyah
will use his position as a high-profile athlete to raise awareness about the potential of sport to help young people.
“Mr Al-Attiyah is an accomplished athlete in sports that require precision and dedication, where being distracted by
drugs would make success impossible,” Mr. Costa said. “He has the credentials to show young people what tremendous
achievements are possible by living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.”
UN- HABITAT has bestowed its first UN Human Settlements Lecture award on Professor John Friedmann, one of the most
well-known urban planners in the world today, who is currently Honorary Professor in the School of Community and
Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He is also Professor Emeritus of Urban
Planning at UCLA in the United States.
Professor Friedmann, who has worked in and written about Latin America, North America, Europe and China, will deliver
his lecture during the third session of the World Urban Forum in Vancouver from 19 to 23 June.
The award seeks to recognize outstanding and sustained contribution to research, thinking and practice in the human
settlements field, and the lecture is intended to stimulate global debate and provoke new thinking in the field.
Meanwhile in the field of music, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has joined forces
with the Ricky Martin Foundation on a global initiative aimed at safeguarding children against exploitation and abuse.
The non-profit foundation, named after the Puerto Rican-born singer, defends the well-being of children around the world
in areas such as social justice, education and health.
The first step of the new partnership will be to strengthen the “Navega Protegido Campaign launched by the Foundation
and Microsoft to promote child safety online and secure children from dangers such as child pornography, sex predators
and identity theft. Educational material regarding hazards in cyberspace will be distributed to children and teachers of
the UNESCO network of Associated Schools in Latin America and the Caribbean.
ENDS