UNICEF People

Sir Roger Moore to receive Hammarskjöld Award for his work with UNICEF

© UNICEF/HQ04-0557 /Wang Yongji

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sir Roger Moore greets a girl during the launch of a UNICEF-supported summer camp for children orphaned by AIDS in Beijing, China.

By Chris Niles

NEW YORK, USA, 23 October 2007 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sir Roger Moore is to receive a prestigious humanitarian award later this week honouring his work to promote the rights of the world’s children.

Sir Roger is only the second recipient of the Dag Hammarskjöld Inspiration Award, which is given annually by the Board of Directors of the Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarship Fund.

The award was established in 2006 to pay tribute to the mission of Mr. Hammarskjöld – the second Secretary-General of the United Nations and one of the most respected humanitarians of the 20th century – and to further his work on advancing peace and diplomacy. Its first recipient was Swedish diplomat Jan Eliasson, a past president of the UN General Assembly.

Introduced to UNICEF by fellow actor and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn, Sir Roger has been a Goodwill Ambassador since 1991. In that time he has travelled the world, tirelessly advocating for the rights of children.

© UNICEF/HQ99-0398/Thomas

Sir Roger Moore signs an autograph for a Kosovar refugee girl outside a UNICEF tent school in the Cegrane camp in north-west Macedonia.

Raising global awareness

One of the highlights of the partnership was a new alliance, which Sir Roger helped launch in November 2001, between UNICEF and FIFA, the world governing body of football. The partnership includes a focus on preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS among young people, one of the areas in which Sir Roger’s efforts have raised global awareness and support.

He also played a key role in promoting Kiwanis International's Worldwide Service Project to raise $75 million for eliminating iodine deficiency, the primary cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage.

Sir Roger was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1999, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003, in recognition of his work with UNICEF. But he is perhaps best known for his successful stage, television and film career, in which he played two iconic action characters, The Saint and James Bond.