By Xinhua
United Nations : The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has designated American filmmaker and actor George Clooney as a UN messenger of peace, a UN spokeswoman has said.
Clooney will join eight other internationally renowned individuals as messengers to raise global awareness of the UN’s ideals and activities, with a special focus on UN peacekeeping efforts, Ban Ki-moon’s spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said Friday.
“Recognised for focussing public attention on crucial international political and social issues, Clooney joins eight other UN messengers of peace who advocate on behalf of the organisation,” Montas said.
Clooney will visit the UN headquarters Jan 31 to receive the designation and meet officials from countries contributing to UN peacekeeping efforts.
Messengers of peace are individuals who possess widely recognised talents in the fields of art, film, literature, music and sports and help raise worldwide awareness of the UN’s ideals and activities, she said.
“Through their public appearances, contacts with the international media and humanitarian work, they expand public understanding of how the UN helps to improve the lives of billions of people everywhere,” she said.
Current messengers of peace and their areas of focus are Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, for millennium development goals and hunger; conductor Daniel Barenboim, for peace and tolerance; author Paulo Coelho, for intercultural dialogue; actor Michael Douglas, for disarmament and peace and security; primatologist Jane Goodall, for the environment; violinist Midori Goto, for millennium development goals and youth; cellist Yo-Yo Ma, for youth; and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, for human rights and the holocaust.