PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED NATIONS GOODWILL AMBASSADORS

PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNITED NATIONS GOODWILL AMBASSADORS

Describing the impact of celebrity advocacy in the new millennium at a Headquarters press conference today, a panel of United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors described the possibilities and challenges of bringing the message of the United Nations to a larger audience.

The United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors, who were attending a two-day meeting entitled, "Celebrity Advocacy for the New Millennium", are prominent persons from around the globe from the worlds of art, film, music, sports, literature and public affairs.  They had come to participate in workshops, share information on the priorities of the United Nations system, and discuss ways for lending greater impetus to the Millennium Development Goals.

Introducing himself as "Moore -- Roger Moore", the British movie star and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador described his role in two words: good and will.  "What is 'good' about a Goodwill Ambassador", he said, "is the good we try to do."  The "will", he said, was the will to do something for the world.  As UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, his role was to do something for the children of the world.

Goedele Liekens, Belgian media personality and practicing psychologist-sexologist, and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said she had attended the two-day session because it was important for Goodwill Ambassadors to better understand how the United Nations works.  Coming from a western country -- Belgium -- it was important to know how to convey United Nations-related topics to the public.

Working with refugees had changed her life, said Angelina Jolie, Academy Award winning actress and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador.  Over 20 million people -- men, women and children -- were refugees and even more were internally displaced.  UNHCR was a protection agency and was very much in the field.  Much of her work was carried out with the "amazing" UNHCR field staff to raise awareness for the refugees.  She was attending the two-day meeting to learn about the other parts of the United Nations system and how best to work with other Goodwill Ambassadors.

Danny Glover, American movie star and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said his decision to become involved with UNDP was based on his keen interest in community development.  He had attended the last meeting of Goodwill Ambassadors in October 2000, prior to the events of September 11 and the United Nations World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa.  He was interested in understanding where the United Nations had moved and how it had progressed since then.

Mechai Viravaidya of Thailand, the UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), said he worked in Asia to convince Asian Governments, which represented some two thirds of humankind, that the biggest AIDS problem in terms of numbers would soon be in Asia -- not in Africa.  His role was to convince governments to stop denying the problem, to be open and honest and to

make political and financial commitments.  AIDS was not a health problem.  AIDS committees or commissions should be headed by the heads of State and government and not by health ministers.  Condoms should be made available.  They were wonderful products and should be made "a girl's best friend.  I see some of you giggling. I'd rather see you giggle than dead", he said.

A correspondent asked whether the Goodwill Ambassadors planned to visit Afghanistan and the Balkans to boost the morale of refugees there.

Ms. Jolie said that she had been discussing a visit to the Balkans.  She had just returned from Ecuador, which was her first trip to South America.  She was in Pakistan last August not only to boost morale but to ensure that funding was in place.  The situation had obviously changed dramatically since then.  Even with the Afghan returnees, the numbers were still much larger than they had planned for and the refugee agency was overwhelmed.  "It's very important that we don't forget, which so often is the case once things drop off the headlines, these people and situations", she said.

Having recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where she visited various refugee camps, Ms. Liekens said her focus was on reproductive health and women's issues.  Every half-hour a woman died there of pregnancy-related causes.  There were some very simple solutions, however, such as an emergency delivery package consisting of plastic sheeting, a sterile cloth, soap, sterile razor blade and a small rope.  The package saved thousands of lives.  It was important for the Goodwill Ambassadors to go to affected areas not only to see the situation firsthand, but also to deliver a message of hope.

Referring to the Secretary-General's opening remarks at yesterday's meeting, a correspondent asked what the Goodwill Ambassadors were planning to do to improve on how the United Nations got its message across.

Mr. Moore said that as advocates, Goodwill Ambassadors had to speak up and speak out.  What they said, however, was not always reported.  In a way, his role as Goodwill Ambassador was similar to what he had done for the last 40 years:  make and sell films.  "It's no good producing a new film and not selling it because no one knows it's in the cinema", he said.  "Not everyone read the same paper, so you have to speak to 400 newspapers if you want to get the message across".  Goodwill Ambassadors had to speak as often and as loudly as possible.

Delivering a message was not only a question of relaying statistics, but of putting a face to those statistics, Ms. Liekens said.  By bringing back pictures and creating documentaries, celebrity advocates could do that.  The only way to reach people was to reach their hearts.

Understanding the message of the United Nations was critical for the Goodwill Ambassadors, Mr. Glover said.  The United Nations, which was created more than 55 years ago, was established to act on behalf of those who were impoverished and to bring the voice of the people "to the table".  While that might not have been the United Nations initial mission statement, it had become its mission statement today.  It was important to know whose voice and ideas the United Nations represented -- whether it was a collective, inclusive voice, or just the voice of a powerful few.  "It's very critical to understand where we stand in this whole process", he said.  He was not interested in promoting an idea for the sake of an institution, just because it was an institution.  He wanted to know what that institution was saying to the people most in need.  The role of the United Nations had to be clarified and the Goodwill Ambassadors could help do that.

Young ambassadors -- children -- were needed, Mr. Moore added.  It started with education.  For the millions of children who were not being educated, they needed to know that they had brothers and sisters around the world.  Children were the leaders of tomorrow.

Ms. Jolie said the Ambassadors had been asked to question the United Nations and to understand it better.  It was a work in progress and the Ambassadors were trying to improve the projects they were working on.  A big part of their role was to be a voice for the voiceless people of the world.  One of the greatest outcomes of the meeting was the decision of the Ambassadors to be in better communication with each other and to work as one. 

The Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace had assumed their roles because they believed in the idea of the United Nations, Mr. Glover said.  "We're here to make the United Nations a better place."  One of the roles of Goodwill Ambassadors was to make sure that the United Nations upheld its mandate.

In their private discussions, had the Goodwill Ambassadors exchanged ideas on how to improve the programme? a correspondent asked. 

Ms. Liekens said it was the first time that the Goodwill Ambassadors had come to discuss the interconnection between the issues they represented.  While in the past they had discussed their separate issues, the United Nations now had the Millennium Development Goals.  It was necessary for the Goodwill Ambassadors to work together.  Just as there was no way to divide the topics, there was no way to divide the Goodwill Ambassadors.

A correspondent asked what the Goodwill Ambassadors saw as coming out of the meeting?

Ms. Jolie said that she was still trying to understand some of the statistics, such as how some 20 per cent of the world's population used about

90 per cent of its resources.  It had been a big time for the Ambassadors to discuss what they had learned and what had happened.  They were just people, listening to things that everybody would want to understand and hear.  They didn't have all the answers.  "We're going to be asking all of you to help us find the answers", she said.

Mr. Moore said that the last point of discussion this afternoon would be a proposal for action.  Going into the field was a learning experience.  As a witness, he was able to talk about what he saw in the field and relay it to others.  In the area of fundraising, which he did much of, that often made an impact.

In response to a question on adopting individual countries, Ms. Liekens said it was important for Goodwill Ambassadors to remind governments of their commitments to the United Nations and to the development goals.  In that regard, it was important to influence public opinion so that the public supported the work of the Organization.  The Ambassadors could not do that if they adopted one country. 

In the area of AIDS, the major problem was not money but political will,

Mr. Viravaidya said.  If a country was unwilling to provide its own political and financial support, outside money would not make a difference.  It was important to first convince countries that political support and financial resources were needed.

Had any of the Goodwill Ambassadors thought of devoting a major project to their issues? a correspondent asked. 

Ms. Jolie said she had just finished a film that dealt with the subject of refugees and international aid workers.  The film would focus on issues such as demining.  The studios had agreed to that.  But it was difficult.  It was important to make sure that the agencies would be accurately reflected and respected. 

Mr. Glover responded that while there were always opportunities to do movies which portrayed the work of the United Nations, in terms of changing attitudes it was more important to tell stories about people and how they existed.  Building affirming relationships was a critical aspect of film.  There were films that dealt with issues.  For example, he had made a film two years ago that dealt with the emerging struggle in South Africa and the Soweto uprising.  As artists, it was great to do that.  In his movie Lethal Weapon II, for example, the focus was on the issue of South African money laundering.  He was currently developing a project on the genocide in Rwanda.

Asked to comment on how much time Goodwill Ambassadors devoted to their advocacy roles, Ms. Liekens said that while it was a very time-consuming position, it was also very enriching.  As a host of a television show in Belgium, she did not want to spend all of her time in television studios.  Mr. Moore said that he devoted some nine months of the year to his job as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

A correspondent asked whether Goodwill Ambassadors were free to express their political views, or did they feel restrained because of their roles.

UNICEF was a non-political organization, Mr. Moore said.  Goodwill Ambassadors should not engage in political discussion.  While they could have discussions with politicians, they could not discuss their political views, no matter how strong those views were.

Mr. Viravaidya said that they had not been told what to say and what not to say.  They were not anyone's guinea pigs.  While they could say anything they wanted to, they were wise enough to know that in order to achieve goals they had to temper what they said.

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