Note to Correspondents

Department of Public Information Announces Winners of Second Annual

 

‘Citizen Ambassadors to the United Nations’ Video Contest

 

Winners Honoured for Creative Takes on Reaching Millennium Development Goals

The Department of Public Information today announced the six winners of the second annual “Citizen Ambassadors to the United Nations” video contest, which focused this year on the Millennium Development Goals.  The selected videos were created by citizens of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Russian Federation, Mexico and the United States.

From more than 400 entries, the six winners were selected by a panel of United Nations officials and contest partners.  They are:  Adetoye Oremosu, age 32 ( Nigeria), Mansour Albadran, age 18 ( Saudi Arabia), Olga Shibaeva, age 28 ( Russian Federation), Gerardo Mendoza Capetillo, age 23 ( Mexico), Adam Burtle, age 29 ( United States) and Connor Parker, age 19 ( Australia).

The winners have been designated “UN Citizen Ambassadors” and will visit United Nations Headquarters in New York on United Nations Day 2010, where they will meet United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, take a special tour of Headquarters and enjoy VIP seating at the United Nations Day Concert in the General Assembly Hall.

For the 2010 contest, participants were asked to address the Millennium Development Goals, which are eight objectives aimed at achieving tangible improvements by 2015, in the fields of poverty, hunger, disease, maternal and child deaths, education, gender equality and sustainability.

The Goal-themed contest culminated with a special screening of the winning videos before world leaders in the General Assembly Hall at Headquarters in New York, during the historic Summit on the Millennium Development Goals which took place 20-22 September.

The innovative contest was hosted on the United Nations Channel on YouTube from 23 June to 23 August.  It was organized by the Department of Public Information in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme and TV5Monde, as part of a series of initiatives launched by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that seek to increase awareness of the work of the United Nations and to engage a new generation of world citizens through the Internet and online social networking.

The official website for the campaign features the winning entries and plans for the incoming Citizen Ambassadors’ visit to New Yorkat www.uncitizenambassadors.org.

The winning videos were honoured for their personal and creative take on the Goals.  In his winning video, Mr. Oremosu of Nigeria lamented the lack of education and its effect on society, while Mr. Albadran of Saudi Arabia urged world leaders to “forget the mistakes of our past” in order to make this a better world.  Mr. Capetillo of Mexico, stated that the Goals are what “humanity needs for a more just, more tolerant and more secure world” and similarly, Mr. Parker of Australia, suggested that the world must “stand as one and take on the fight against poverty with both hands”.

Videos featuring Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassadors Jackie Chan, Angelique Kidjo, Youssou N’Dour and Leo Messi, and United Nations Messengers of Peace Stevie Wonder and Princess Haya, asked online users how to make the world a “better, safer place” and were viewed over 56,000 times during the campaign.  The United Nations YouTube channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/unitednations.

For further information, please contact:  Einat Temkin, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, e-mail:  temkin@un.org, tel.:  917 367 5841.

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For information media • not an official record