UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education
Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser, First Lady of Qatar from 1995 to 2013, was appointed UNESCO Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education in January 2003, in light of her commitment to the promotion of education.
As Chairperson and President of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser has spearheaded activities and projects in basic and higher education, establishing non-profit private schools and learning institutions for children and young people in Qatar.
In 2003, her Highness Sheikha Moza launched the International Fund for Higher Education in Iraq, in cooperation with UNESCO. The aim of this Fund was to provide immediate and long-term assistance for the reconstruction of higher education in Iraq. In her capacity as UNESCO Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education, she also announced in October 2008 the launch of the Fund for Asia (Reach Out to Asia Foundation), in order to promote education in Asia and the Middle East.
As President of the Education Above All Foundation, she champions the Educate A Child (EAC) programme, which aims to reduce the numbers of children worldwide who are out of school. UNESCO works jointly with EAC in over ten countries to enrol out of school children, with a particular focus on the Arab and Asia Pacific regions.
In January 2016, the former United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Her Highness as one of the 17 high profile individuals who assist in the campaign to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that world leaders unanimously adopted in September 2015 in New York.
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