United Nations Radio

Angelina Jolie

UNICEF was the first agency to enlist the help of celebrities in 1954.  Since then the UN has built up a distinguished roster of international goodwill ambassadors.

Marsha Branch takes a look at some of the recent additions and how celebrities have been helping to promote the work of the United Nations.

JOLIE: The Somali families I met today are full of warmth and affection. I wish more people could meet them. Then they would have a stronger desire to help.

BRANCH: Say the name Angelina Jolie and for some images of an action clad Lara Croft and the movie Tomb Raider may spring to mind, but for many it's her adoptions of orphans from the developing world and her humanitarian work as a UN Goodwill Ambassador that are foremost associated with this Hollywood starlet.

JOLIE: Today, 3.6 million Somalis are dependent on aid, and the 1.5 million internally displaced are becoming more and more difficult to access and help.  Toilets are already overflowing. There is not even enough space for a trash dump so people are living amongst the garbage, and the deteriorating situation in Somalia is only expected to worsen in the coming months.

BRANCH: Using celebrities to promote humanitarian efforts and charitable events is becoming increasingly popular. And with a myriad of issues needing global attention, the UN has taken to doing the same. But what qualifies a singer, an actor or an athlete to represent the UN?

Recently named UN Ambassador for the Food and Agricultural Organisation, former Olympian Carl Lewis says they attract attention and are able to focus the world's eyes on issues at hand.

LEWIS: We have hearts too. We have minds. We love people. And fortunately, we have a name. I can walk into the UN and someone from every country knows my name and so I can reach people. If the heart is there, then I can reach their minds and then we can create awareness .

BRANCH: And while Carl Lewis is making his mark off the track, yet another well-known athlete is making a splash by doing what he does best.

Swimmer Marcos Diaz announced at the United Nations Headquarters in New York recently, his plans to connect the world through four long distance swims, all in an effort to bring awareness to the Millennium Development Goals.

DIAZ: In the various countries that my career has taken me, I have had the opportunity to witness the best and the worst of the world. I understand that I have the responsibility to do whatever I can to urge people to realize the importance of eradicating extreme poverty around the world.

BRANCH:  Marcos will begin his swim across the continents in 2010, the tenth anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals.  Beginning in May he will swim from Oceania to Asia, then to Africa, then Europe followed by Alaska and then the Americas.

I'm Marsha Branch, for UN Radio.
Duration: 2'36"