Xueli Abbing to become UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the fight against discrimination and racism

Adopted at the age of 3 in China, Xueli Abbing grew up in the Netherlands. As a teenager, she began a career as a model and worked with renowned photographers and designers.

Xueli Abbing has albinism, a genetic condition caused by a deficiency in melanin production that results in hypopigmentation. Alongside her career, she is dedicated to opposing stereotyping in the fashion industry and beyond, and advocating against the mistreatment of people with albinism around the world.

She uses her fame to change attitudes so that albinism, like other particularities, cease to seen as a curse. She builds on her experience to deliver a message of hope and works to make her story a source of inspiration for all people who are perceived as different.

UNESCO and Xueli Abbing share the conviction that diversity is valuable and that, under all circumstances and in all places, every individual must be able to reveal their full potential.

By becoming a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the fight against discrimination and racism, Xueli Abbing will commit to putting her experience, talent and reputation at the service of the Organization’s values.

On the basis of a roadmap to be entrusted to her by the Director-General of UNESCO, she will carry out actions to raise international awareness of human rights and the dignity of the most vulnerable, particularly people with albinism.