British Children’s Author Named Artist For Peace By UNESCO
The prize-winning British children’s author and illustrator Lauren Child has been selected as the latest Artist for
Peace by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the agency announced today.
The author’s appointment comes in recognition of her commitment and support of Programme for the Education of Children
in Need and she will be formally inducted to the post by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura at a ceremony in
Paris on 12 December.
Under a partnership launched earlier in the year, Ms. Child and her publisher, Hachette Children’s Books, agreed to
donate three years of royalties from her best-selling book That Pesky Rat to UNESCO’s Programme for the Education of
Children in Need.
The funds will finance various UNESCO-supported projects for children in need, such as those of the Renacimiento
Foundation, which works for street children in Mexico City.
Also part of the initiative is “My Life is a Story,” a campaign begun by Ms. Child to collect stories from children
around the world, initially from those who are benefiting from UNESCO-supported projects, so that kids from differing
backgrounds can compare their experiences. Several of these writings will be made available on line at
www.mylifeisastory.org.
UNESCO Artists for Peace are internationally renowned personalities who use their influence, charisma and prestige to
help promote the agency’s message and programmes. The artists include Manu Dibango, a Cameroonian musician; Patricia
Velasquez, Venezuelan actress; Gilberto Gil, a Brazilian musician; Miyako Yoshida, a Japanese dancer; Sumi Jo, a
Republic of Korea soprano; and Valery Gergiev, a Russian conductor.
ENDS