With a mandate to support the Secretary-General in his efforts to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030, the SDG Advocates have been working to promote the universal sustainable development agenda, to raise awareness of the integrated nature of the SDGs, and to foster the engagement of new stakeholders in the implementation of these Goals.
The SDG Advocates are:
Recent news
June 2016
In letter, SDG Advocates urge business leaders to take action
2016-07-12T17:59:03+00:00|
With the support of the UN Global Compact, a number of the SDG Advocates are calling on business to take concrete action towards helping the UN achieve the SDGs.
May 2016
Gallery‘We need to solve humanitarian crises together,’ says Sustainable Development Goals Advocate Forest Whitaker
2016-05-24T15:14:27+00:00|
On the opening day of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, the Special Envoy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Forest Whitaker, called on individuals, governments and international organizations to act collectively to improve humanitarian action and invest more in development aid.
April 2016
Forest Whitaker speaks with students at the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics
2016-07-25T16:11:57+00:00|
Renowned actor Forest Whitaker had a conversation with students at the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how individuals can contribute to achieving them.
SDG Advocate Co-chair H.E. Solberg speaks about the Sustainable Development Goals at Korean National Assembly
2016-07-22T20:27:20+00:00|
Norwegian Prime Minister and Co-chair of the UN SDG Advocates, H.E. Erna Solberg, visited the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea in Seoul to discuss the UN Sustainable Development Goals with South Korean parliamentarians.
March 2016
Sustainable Development Goals Advocate Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden attends the lecture given by UN chief
2016-08-01T17:52:16+00:00|
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden attended the Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture in the Blue Hall at Stockholm City Hall. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deliver the Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture.
Bio
Ma currently serves on the board of SoftBank Corp., one of Alibaba’s major shareholders and a Japanese corporation listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Ma is dedicated to philanthropy, environmental protection and conservancy, and education globally. In 2014, Ma established the Jack Ma Foundation to work toward a world with bluer skies, cleaner water, healthier communities and more open thinking. Ma is chair of The Nature Conservancy’s China board of directors and a member of its global board of directors. In 2013 Ma joined the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation as a director and in 2015 joined the UN International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity.
Ma is also an active advisor to multiple governments and business institutions globally. Ma is a member of the advisory group to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, advisor to Prime Minister Karim Massimov of Kazakhstan, and member of the International Advisory Council to the Singapore Economic Development Board. In 2014, Ma was elected to the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum.
Ma graduated from Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute with a major in English language education.
Bio
She supports H.M. the King in His official duties and accompanies Him on state visits and official visits aimed at promoting Belgium’s diplomatic and economic interests as well as its image abroad.
H.M. the Queen shows great concern for vulnerable persons, particularly children. The Queen Mathilde Fund identifies projects likely to improve the situation of vulnerable persons and awards an annual Prize. Educational and health issues, the empowerment of women, the eradication of poverty and projects that fight illiteracy are other key areas of interest to Her.
H.M. the Queen is the Honorary President of UNICEF Belgium, Child Focus, the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium and the King Baudouin Foundation. The Queen is the Patron of many organizations and charities in Belgium and worldwide. She is an Honorary Board Member of the Schwab Foundation on Social Entrepreneurship. She has been a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum Davos.
She is also personally very committed to humanitarian matters and has undertaken many field visits in this regard.
In 2005, the Queen accepted an appointment as United Nations Envoy for the International Year on Microcredit. She was a UNICEF/UNAIDS Special Representative for their campaign on orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and She was a Special Representative of WHO Europe for immunization.
H.M. the Queen is a former speech therapist and holds an MA in Psychology.
Bio
In addition to her role as a United Nations (UN) Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals, Her Highness plays an active role with the UN to support global education. She was previously a member of the UN Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group with a special emphasis on Goal 2 – universal primary education. Her Highness also served as a Steering Committee Member of the UN Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative and as a UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education, through which she launched multiple projects including the International Fund for Higher Education in Iraq.
Among Her Highness’s many honours are the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service. In 2009, she was inducted into the Academie des Beaux Arts de l’Institut de France. In 2007, Sheikha Moza was presented the prestigious Chatham House Award for her contributions to improving international relations. Her Highness holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Public Policy in Islam from Hamad bin Khalifa University’s Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, and graduated from Qatar University with a degree in sociology.
Bio
She is a member of The Elders, Girls Not Brides, Board Chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, Ambassador for Every Woman Every Child, President of SOAS, University of London, Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, Board Chair of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, President of the Foundation for Community Development, founder of the Zizile Institute for Child Development. As Founder of the Graça Machel Trust, she has focused more recently on advocating for women’s economic and financial empowerment, education for all, an end to child marriage, food security and nutrition, and promoting democracy and good governance.
Bio
Leymah currently serves as a member of the High-Level Task Force for the International Conference on Population and Development. She is a board member of the Federation of Liberian Youth. Leymah’s leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace – which brought together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement that played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war in 2003 –
is chronicled in her memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers, and in the documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell. In addition, Gbowee is the Newsweek Daily Beast’s Africa columnist. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Gbowee Peace Foundation and the PeaceJam Foundation, and she is a member of the African Women Leaders Network for Reproductive Health and Family Planning.
She holds a M.A. in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, VA), and a Doctor of Laws (LLD) honoris causa from Rhodes University in South Africa and University of Alberta in Canada. Leymah was honored as a flag-bearer for the opening
ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. After receiving the Barnard College Medal of Distinction, she was named as a Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice and a Visiting Transnational Fellow at the Center for Research on Women, and Fellow in Residence at the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College for the 2013/2014 academic year. She is currently a distinguished residence scholar at the Union Seminary in New York, a Member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocacy Group and a proud mother of seven children.
Bio
Bio
As a Goodwill Ambassador since 2003, Shakira has expanded her child advocacy efforts on the global level, having done field visits in Bangladesh, Azerbaijan and Israel, leading two global fundraising campaigns to help life-saving supplies reach the world’s most impoverished and at-risk children, and most recently during UN Week 2015, hosting a high-level meeting of advocates, private and public sector representatives to discuss the importance of additional investment in ECD on a global scale.
Since 2015 she has also served as a member on former United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s International Commission on Financing Global Education, which seeks to find a worldwide solution and funding to provide universal access to quality education.
Bio
In the other half of Richard’s life he is the Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of Comic Relief, which he started after visiting Ethiopia during the 1985 famine. In 1988, Comic Relief launched its Red Nose Day fundraising initiative, including a live TV broadcast for the BBC, which brought together some of the biggest celebrities of the day. Since then, Richard has produced more than 15 live nights of television and Red Nose Day has raised more than £1 billion for projects in the UK and around the world.
Last year, Richard launched Red Nose Day in the United States, which included a live telecast on NBC and raised over $23 million. Red Nose Day returns to the US in May 2016, with the day’s events culminating in a second live special on NBC, of which Richard is the Executive Producer.
Richard was a founding member of Make Poverty History and worked both on that campaign and on Live 8 in 2005. As part of his contribution to the campaign Richard wrote The Girl in the Café for HBO and the BBC – a television drama based around the G8 Summit, which won three Emmys. In 2012, Phillip Noyce directed Richard’s TV movie Mary and Martha, a film about two mothers losing their sons to malaria. It has been shown in 50 countries around the world and used as a campaigning tool by many organizations committed to ending malaria.
In 2014 Richard founded Project Everyone. Working alongside the United Nations, Project Everyone helped to launch and promote the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, a series of ambitious targets to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and combat climate change by 2030. As part of this endeavour Richard produced the Global Citizen Festival, live from Central Park, which was broadcast in 150 territories worldwide.
In January 2016 Richard was formally appointed as a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocacte alongside 16 others including Shakira, Paul Polman and Graça Machel.
Bio
Paul actively seeks cooperation with other companies to implement sustainable business strategies and drive systemic change. He is Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the B Team and sits on the Board of the UN Global Compact.
Paul has been closely involved in global discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and action to tackle climate change. In 2016, Paul was asked by the UN Secretary-General to be a member of the SDG Advocacy Group, tasked with promoting action on the 2030 Agenda. Prior to this, Paul served on the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, presenting recommendations on behalf of the private sector. He also served on the International Council of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, under former Mexican President, Felipe Calderon.
In recognition of his contribution to responsible business, Paul has received numerous awards including UN Foundation’s Champion for Global Change Award (2014), the Oslo Business for Peace Award (2015) and the UN Environment Programme’s Champion of the Earth Award (2015).
Bio
In 2006, Professor Yunus and Grameen Bank were jointly awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
Professor Muhammad Yunus is the recipient of 55 honorary degrees from universities across 20 countries. He has received 112 awards from 26 countries including state honours from 10 countries. He is one of only seven individuals to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the United States Congressional Gold Medal. Other notable awards include the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1984), World Food Prize (1998), The Prince of Asturias Award for Concord (1998), Sydney Peace Prize (1998) and the Seoul Peace Prize (2006). In Bangladesh he got President’s Award in 1978 for introducing an innovative organisation in agriculture. He was awarded the Independence Day Award in 1987, by the President of Bangladesh for the outstanding contribution in rural development. This is the highest civilian national award of Bangladesh.
Professor Yunus was chosen by Wharton School of Business as one of ‘The 25 Most influential Business Persons of the Past 25 Years’. AsiaWeek (Hong Kong) selected him as one of ‘Twenty Great Asians (1975-1995).” Ananda Bazaar Patrika (India) selected Professor Yunus as one of “Ten Great Bengalis of the Century (1900-1999).”
In 2006, Time Magazine listed Professor Yunus under “60 years of Asian Heroes” as one the top 12 business leaders. In 2008, in an open online poll, Yunus was voted the 2nd topmost intellectual person in the world on the list of Top 100 Public Intellectuals by Prospect Magazine (UK) and Foreign Policy (United States). In 2010, The New Statesman (UK) listed him as one of “The World’s 50 Most Influential Figures”.
Professor Yunus has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, Hardtalk on BBC and The Simpsons. Financial Times chose Professor Muhammed Yunus as one of six Finance Pioneers. In the March 31, 2015 issue in an article entitled “Business Pioneers in Finance” Professor Yunus has been placed alongside Warren Buffett, Amadeo Giannini, Henry Kravis, J.P Morgan, and Mayer Amschel Rothschild as greatest business finance pioneers of all time. He has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, Newsweek and Forbes Magazine.
Bio
Mr. Messi has dedicated time to UNICEF since 2004, supporting the offices in Spain and Argentina with advocacy and fundraising. He was among a team of top soccer players who were featured in a Public Service Announcement to launch the FIFA-UNICEF joint campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany under the banner ‘Unite for Children, Unite for Peace.’ In 2007, he participated in a local UNICEF telethon called ‘Un Sol para los Chicos’ which raised over US$1 million to benefit UNICEF projects in Argentina.. His personal childhood experiences have been the driving force behind his commitment and desire to help vulnerable children and to engage in charitable activities. In 2007, Leo Messi with the support of all his family founded the Leo Messi Foundation with the idea that all children have the same opportunities for making their dreams come true. The prospects are to work on actions, not only in Argentina and Spain, but also abroad and together with other institutions which develop projects in alignment with the ideals of the Foundation: Education and Health Care (mainly focused on childhood cancer treatment, Malaria, “Mal de Chagas” illness and building or rehabilitating Medical facilities).
Bio
Professor Sachs served as the Director of the Earth Institute from 2002 to 2016. He was appointed University Professor at Columbia University in 2016, and also serves as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Sustainable Development Goals, and previously advised both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria. Sachs is Director of both the Center for Sustainable Development, and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Sachs is co-founder and Chief Strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance, and is director of the Millennium Villages Project. Sachs is also one of the Secretary-General’s SDG Advocates, and a Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Development. He has authored five books, including three New York Times bestsellers (*), in the past decade years: The End of Poverty (2005*), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008*), The Price of Civilization (2011*), To Move the World: JFK’s Quest for Peace (2013) and The Age of Sustainable Development (2015).
Professor Sachs is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on economic development, global macroeconomics, and the fight against poverty. His work on ending poverty, overcoming macroeconomic instability, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices, has taken him to more than 125 countries with more than 90 percent of the world’s population. For more than thirty years he has advised dozens of heads of state and governments on economic strategy, in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He was among the outside advisors to Pope John Paul II on the encyclical Centesimus Annus and in recent years has worked closely with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on the issues of sustainable development.
Sachs is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the Blue Planet Prize, membership in the United States Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Society of Fellows, and the Fellows of the World Econometric Society. His conversation with Tyler Cowen won the Quartz Podcast Award for best business/economics podcast of 2015. He has received more than 20 honorary degrees, and many awards and honors around the world. Professor Sachs is also a frequent contributor to major publications such as the Financial Times of London, the International Herald Tribune, Scientific American, and Time magazine.
Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, most recently as the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard.
Bio
At the age of 15 Alaa completed high school and moved from Saskatoon, Canada to Zawia, Libya. It was there that she enrolled in medical school and founded The Voice of Libyan Women (VLW) at the age of 21. With a strong focus on challenging societal and cultural norms and utilizing traditional and historical role models Murabit champions women’s participation in peace processes and conflict mediation. Her programs, such as the groundbreaking “Noor Campaign” are replicated internationally.
Murabit’s TED Talk, released in July 2015, “What my religion really says about women” was selected as the TED Talk of the Day and one of four moving TED Talks you should watch right now by The New York Times.
Nicknamed “The Libyan Doogie Howser” by Jon Stewart and applauded for her innovative approach to security, Murabit acts as advisor to numerous international security boards, think tanks and organizations, including the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (women, peace and security),UN Women Global Advisory Board, and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Murabit is an Ashoka fellow, and the youngest recipient of the Marisa Bellisario International Humanitarian Award by the Italian Government, named the “International Trust Women Hero 2014” by The New York Times, “One of 25 women under 25 to watch” by Newsweek, a “100 Top Woman” by the BBC and the SAFE Global Hero.
Murabit has been selected to address the UN Security during the 15th anniversary of Resolution 1325, as well as the UN General Assembly during the Commission on the Status of Women opening session opening session, and address the UN Security Council during the 15 year anniversary of Resolution 1325.
Bio
Crown Princess Victoria is the eldest child of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf and Her Majesty Queen Silvia. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on 1 January 1980, Crown Princess Victoria is heir to the Swedish throne. The Crown Princess resides at Haga Palace together with Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle, and Prince Oscar.
United Nations experience
In the spring of 1998, Crown Princess Victoria began academic studies in Political Science and History at Yale University in the United States. In conjunction with her stay The Crown Princess completed two periods of work experience at the United Nations in New York (June and September 2002) as well as one at the Swedish Embassy in Washington DC in May 1999.
In autumn 2000 The Crown Princess completed studies in conflict resolution and international peace-building.
In spring 2001 The Crown Princess studied the Swedish Presidency of the EU.
Swedish Government Offices
In autumn 2001, The Crown Princess followed a study programme at the offices of the Swedish Government. During this time she visited the ‘Swedish Style’ exhibition in Tokyo and the west coast of the USA in connection with the Nobel Jubilee.
In spring 2002, The Crown Princess completed a study programme at SIDA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and spent time in countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia.
During this time she also continued with her official engagements. In autumn 2002 she completed an internship with the Swedish Trade Council in Berlin and Paris.
International aid work in Asia
In spring 2005 The Crown Princess travelled extensively, including a trip to Australia in connection with the ‘Swedish Style’ exhibition, and a trip to Japan to attend the World Exposition in Aichi.
The Crown Princess also travelled to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to study international aid efforts in these countries. In June 2005 she visited Turkey with Thomas Östros, the Swedish Minister for Trade and Industry, in order to promote relations between Sweden and Turkey.
Diplomatic studies
In September 2006 the Crown Princess embarked upon the diplomatic programme at the Swedish Foreign Ministry. The programme lasts for one academic year and includes lectures, seminars and group work. The Crown Princess also took part in field trips to various different authorities and institutions.
Bio
H.E. Solberg was Minister of Local Government and Regional Development 2001-2005, in Kjell Magne Bondevik’s Second Government. She has represented the Conservative Party in the County of Hordaland at the Storting (Parliament) since 1989. At the change of government she was the Conservative Party’s parliamentary leader. During the recent Storting period she was member of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services Affairs, the Standing Committee on Foreign and Defence Affairs and the Electoral Committee, 08.10.2009 – 30.09.2013. She has previously been a member of standing committees on i.a. Finance and Local Government, and head of the Storting’s delegation to NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly.
H.E. Solberg has been leader of the Conservative Party since 2004.
Bio
The young John Dramani Mahama attended primary school at the Achimota School in Accra, and on completion moved to the Northern Region to attend the Ghana Secondary School in Tamale where he studied for his Ordinary and Advanced level GCE Certificates. Thereafter he attended the University of Ghana, Legon where he read History, and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1981.
He furthered his education by doing Post Graduate Studies in Communication also in the University of Ghana, in the School of Communication Studies, which he completed in 1986. He has always had a thirst for knowledge, and this made him take advantage of the opportunity to study for a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Psychology from the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow.
After he completed his post graduate diploma studies in Moscow, John Mahama returned to Ghana and in 1991 become the Information, Culture and Research Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Accra.
The President credits this period of his life for having inculcated in him the Japanese work ethic, after seeing first-hand the efforts that they put into their work. The President had never been afraid of hard work himself, but the experience reinforced in his mind the importance of focus and commitment and reflects in his actions, effort and the dynamism that he brings to bear on the Office of the President.
After working at the Embassy of Japan for a few years, he moved on to become the International Relations, Sponsorship, Communication and Grants Manager at the Ghana Office of PLAN International, an International Development Charity that has committed itself to alleviating child poverty and improving the lives of Children all over the world.
The President contested to serve as a Member of Parliament for the Bole-Bamboi Constituency in 1996, and won on the ticket of the NDC. He was re-elected to Parliament two more times in the year 2000, and 2004 prior to becoming the Vice-Presidential Candidate for the Party in 2008.
During his first term of Office as an MP he was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Communications, and subsequently appointed substantive Minister. He was the first Chairman of the National Communications Authority and in that capacity played a key role in shaping Ghana’s telecommunication’s sector after deregulation.
During the NDC Administration of 1996 -2000 he was also a member of the economic management team, and played a key role in the publicity committee for the re-introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT).
When the NDC Government left office in January 2001 he served as the Minority Spokesman for Communications in Parliament from 2001 to 2004, the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2008, and as a Member of the Pan African Parliament. He was also the Director of Communications of the NDC and played a key role in giving voice to the party’s positions on matters of governance and social significance when the party was in opposition.
He was popularly elected in an election conducted by Ghana’s Electoral Commission on December 07, 2012. John Mahama ascended to the Office of President after the untimely demise of the late President – His Excellency Professor John Evans Atta Mills on the 24th of July 2012.