UNICEF Türkiye Appoints Hadise as a Child Rights Advocate

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ISTANBUL, 7 July 2022 – UNICEF Türkiye has appointed Hadise, an internationally well-known singer, to be their newest Child Rights Advocate today. Hadise will support UNICEF Türkiye’s efforts to advocate to end child labour and violence against children in the coming year.   

“I am honored to support UNICEF and the children of Türkiye. This is a dream come true.” said Hadise.  She explained to have agreed to focus on issues which put children’s lives at risk like violence and child labour. 

“My message today is simple: Children learn what they see. So, let’s be role models to all children and adolescents of Türkiye and resolve issues through a constructive dialogue. Let’s also provide every child in this country with quality, inclusive education, adequate social protection, free cultural and sports activities, and  learning opportunities so that they can find decent jobs as adults and break the cycle of poverty”, Hadise pointed out.  

Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Representative to Türkiye, congratulated Hadise on this appointment and invited everyone to join Hadise and UNICEF Türkiye in building a safe society that provides equal opportunities to every child.    

“Join us, we need everyone's efforts   to ensure that every girl and boy have the right to protection and a place to grow up safely and realize their full potential” said De Dominicis.  

Young people Nehir and Resul congratulated Hadise and UNICEF Türkiye on their decision to work together to raise awareness and joint efforts against child labour and violence.  

“We, as the society, must do everything we can so that a child who’s been bullied, who will grow up to be a mother or father and will raise children, does not raise their children as a bully.” said Nehir. Resul added telling the story of his friend without giving his name: “While we thought it was his choice, we later found out that it was because his family, whose economic situation was not good at the time, forced him to work even though it is a prohibited act. Children should have more equal opportunities and live happily.” 

Hadise has joined today the global UNICEF family of Advocates for Children, who use their resources to advocate on various child rights issues all over the world. UNICEF Advocates for Children are prominent individuals from arts, music, academics, ICT, sports, community-based organisations or other fields. 

Note to Editors 

About Hadise: 

Born in Belgium in 1985, Hadise is a singer who has pursued her music career in Türkiye and who has international achievements. Widely acclaimed thanks to her standing, musicality, and stage performances, she continues to make important contributions to the music industry in Türkiye. Hadise’s success in Europe made her the strongest candidate to represent Türkiye in the Eurovision Song Contest. With the support of the Turkish public and the decision of TRT, Hadise represented Türkiye with the song “Dum Tek Tek” in 2009.  She started to perform as a judge in one of the most watched TV programs, the singing competition “O Ses Türkiye,” Turkish version of “The Voice”. 

For more information, please contact 

Can Remzi Ergen, Communication Officer, UNICEF Türkiye, +905323155687, cergen@unicef.org