Children’s author and illustrator, Lauren Child, appointed UNESCO Artist for Peace

Paris, 5 December

The British children’s author and illustrator, Lauren Child, will be named UNESCO Artist for Peace in a ceremony at the Organization’s Headquarters on 12 December at 6 p.m.

The ceremony will be held in the presence of UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, and Peter Landymore, Permanent Delegate of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Northern Ireland to UNESCO.

Lauren Child is a successful author and illustrator who has received numerous prizes for her books. Her appointment comes in recognition of her commitment and support of UNESCO’s Programme for the Education of Children in Need.

On 25 June 2008, UNESCO and Lauren Child signed a three-year partnership agreement whereby the author and her publisher, Hachette Children’s Books, donate to the Organization all royalties and publisher profits on sales of the popular book “That Pesky Rat”. The funds generated by this book will be used to finance various projects for deprived children, such as those of the Fondation Renacimiento, which works with street children in Mexico.

Another element of this partnership, “My Life is a Story”, is a campaign launched by Lauren Child to gather the stories of children from all over the world. In the first instance these stories will be collected from children benefitting from projects supported by UNESCO. In the longer term, schoolchildren throughout the world will be invited to write about their experiences so that children from very different backgrounds will be able to compare their experiences.

UNESCO Artists for Peace are internationally renowned personalities who use their influence, charisma and prestige to help promote UNESCO’s messages and programmes. They include: musician, Manu Dibango (Cameroon), actress Patricia Velasquez (Venezuela), musician, Gilberto Gil (Brazil), dancer, Miyako Yoshida (Japan), soprano, Sumi Jo (Republic of Korea), and conductor Valery Gergiev (Russian Federation).

• Author(s):Media Advisory N°2008-89
• Source:UNESCOPRESS
• 05-12-2008