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.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg will co-chair the group of SDG Advocates.
"The Sustainable Development Goals are both ambitious and necessary for our common future. I am pleased to have received this appointment and look forward to working with this diverse group of Advocates. Together we will strengthen the overall effort to achieve the sustainability goals. It is important to get a good start and get a head start", says Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
The group had its first meeting in Davos on January 21.
"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 other Advocates include:
- Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
- 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 Columbia 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
The 17 SDGs aim to end poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while leaving no one behind. Read more here.
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.