UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of a
group of eminent persons to assist in the campaign to achieve the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that world leaders unanimously
adopted last September.
With
a mandate to support the Secretary-General in his efforts to generate
momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030, the newly named SDG
Advocates will add powerful voices to spur action on the visionary and
transformational sustainable development agenda. The 17 SDGs aim to end
poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while leaving no
one behind.
“The
17 Sustainable Development Goals are our shared vision of humanity and a
social contract between the world's leaders and the people,” said UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “They are a to-do list for people and
planet, and a blueprint for success.”
The
SDG Advocates will have the task of promoting the universal sustainable
development agenda, raising awareness of the integrated nature of the
SDGs, and fostering the engagement of new stakeholders in the
implementation of the SDGs.
The
diverse group of Advocates will engage with partners from civil
society, academia, parliaments, and the private sector to develop new
and ground-breaking ideas and ways to promote SDG implementation. The
group includes Heads of State and Government, business and political
leaders and prominent academia, as well as artists who have shown
outstanding leadership in their field.
Ghanaian
President John Dramani Mahama and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg
will co-chair the group of SDG Advocates. The other Advocates include:
Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Co-Founder Qatar Foundation
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
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
Mr.
Forest Whitaker, Founder and CEO, Whitaker Peace & Development
Initiative, UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation
Professor Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank