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Panel 11

For most of its 50 years, UNICEF has benefited greatly from the support of internationally known personalities. Danny Kaye pioneered the role, as UNICEF's first Ambassador at large. For over three decades, beginning in 1953, he helped represent UNICEF and the needs of children in the international community. Audrey Hepburn also served as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, from 1988 until her untimely death in January 1993. Her deeply sensitive appeals for children while visiting Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan cannot be forgotten.

UNICEF now has five Goodwill Ambassadors, personal representatives of the UNICEF Executive Director, volunteering their time and talents to draw the public's attention to the needs of children.

Photo: Harry Belafonte, who works tirelessly on behalf of children, visited Rwanda in 1994. ©

Current Ambassadors

• Sir Peter Ustinov -- Goodwill Ambassador for over 25 years, he has won awards for his uniquely entertaining UNICEF public service announcements and for special documentaries on the situation of children in China and Russia. He represents UNICEF in numerous forums.
• Liv Ullmann -- One of the first outsiders to visit refugee camps in Kampuchea in 1979, she also helped draw attention to a little-publicized famine in Ethiopia when she was photographed with children there in the mid-1980s. She continues her advocacy for children.
• Tetsuko Kuroyanagi -- A well-known Japanese television personality, she has raised more than US$20 million in Japan through programmes about the UNICEF-supported projects she has visited.
• Harry Belafonte -- A strong UNICEF voice for Africa in concert appearances and in special appeals, he has most recently advocated for the children of Rwanda.
• Lord Attenborough -- Became familiar with UNICEF's work while making the films Gandhi in India and Cry Freedom in South Africa; both have been successful benefit fund-raisers for UNICEF.

In addition, a number of celebrated actors, artists, singers and sports figures donate their talents to advocate for children on behalf of UNICEF as Special Representatives, including:

• Roger Moore -- A tireless advocate for children on many issues, he has become the major spokesperson for the Kiwanis-UNICEF initiative to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDD).
• Sir Edmund Hillary -- Has been giving special support to the salt iodization initiative to protect children from IDD in the Himalayas.
• Vanessa Redgrave -- Has raised funds and public awareness for children in former Yugoslavia through a series of events in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, as well as in London and New York.
• Judy Collins -- Recently visited children in Viet Nam, has also been an envoy for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, supporting the book I dream of peace on the wartime experiences of children.
• Imran Khan -- Has used his international profile in cricket to support health and immunization programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
• Johann Olav Koss -- The voice of UNICEF's Olympic Aid support programme for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
• Mario Kreutzberger -- Includes messages for UNICEF in his popular television programme 'Sabado Gigante', reaching a huge audience in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries.

Julio Iglesias, Leon Lai, Nana Mouskouri and Youssou N'Dour are other performers who have given generously of their time and talents in benefit concerts and appearances for UNICEF.