UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors are celebrity advocates of UNESCO (not diplomatic ambassadors) who use their talent or fame to spread the UNESCO ideals, especially attracting media attention. Other specialized categories of advocate include UNESCO Artist for Peace, UNESCO Champion for Sport and UNESCO Special Envoy.

Current list

The following is a list of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors along with the projects and activities they support.^[1]

Name	Country	Ambassador since	Projects and activities they support^[2]	Link
Deeyah Khan	Norway	17 November 2016	Artistic freedom and creativity	[1]
Keith Chatsauka-Coetzee	South Africa	12 July 2012		[2]
Sunny Varkey	India	2012	Promoter of education. Currently in United Arab Emirates.	[3]
Hayat Sindi	Saudi Arabia	1 October 2012	Promotion of science education for Arab women	[4]
Forest Whitaker	United States	21 June 2011		[5]
Nizan Guanaes	Brazil	27 May 2011		[6]
Vik Muniz	Brazil	27 May 2011		[7]
Oskar Metsavaht	Brazil	27 May 2011		[8]
Ivonne A-Baki	Ecuador	15 February 2010	Peace	[9]
Yazid Sabeg	Algeria	16 February 2010		[10]
Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière	France	27 August 2009		[11]
Esther Coopersmith	United States	2009		[12]
Christine Hakim	Indonesia	11 March 2008^[3]	Teacher education in South East Asia	[13]
Chantal Biya	Cameroon	14 November 2008	Education and Social Inclusion	[14]
Vitaly Ignatenko	Russia	2008	Building of the capacities of the Russian language journalists and promotion of the free circulation of ideas in the Russian-speaking world	[15]
Jean Malaurie	France	17 July 2007^[4]	In charge of arctic polar issues, promoting environmental issues and safeguarding the culture and knowledge of the peoples of the Arctic	[16]
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand	Thailand	24 March 2005	Empowerment of Minority Children and the Preservation of their Intangible Cultural Heritage	[17]
Mehriban Aliyeva	Azerbaijan	9 September 2004	Promotion and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, especially oral traditions and expressions	[18]
Milú Villela	Brazil	10 November 2004	Voluntary Action and Basic Education in Latin America	[19]
Cristina Owen-Jones	Italy	23 March 2004	HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program	[20]
Ara Abramyan	Russia	15 July 2003	Dialogue among Civilizations	[21]
The Princess of Hanover	Monaco	2 December 2003	Protection of children and the family, empowerment of women and girls in Africa	[22]
Valdas Adamkus	Lithuania	29 September 2003	Construction of Knowledge Societies	[23]
Alicia Alonso	Cuba	7 June 2002	Promotion of ballet dancing (Programme of Intangible Heritage)	[24]
Ringo	Italy	2001	Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage	[25]
Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco	Morocco	July 2001	Protection of childhood and women's rights	[26]
Claudia Cardinale	Italy	March 2000	Promotion of women's rights, especially for women in the Mediterranean; Environment issues	[27]
Bahia Hariri	Lebanon	17 November 2000	Preservation of World Heritage, education, culture, women's rights and sustainable development in the Arab world	[28]
Madanjeet Singh	India	16 November 2000	Founder of the South Asia Foundation, which promotes regional cooperation through education and sustainable development	[29]
Patrick Baudry	France	September 1999	Education of young people through seminars, science conferences and projects in the field	[30]
Marianna Vardinoyannis	Greece	21 October 1999	Protection of childhood; promotion of cultural Olympics; humanitarian relief for war victims	[31]
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir	Iceland	1998	Promotion of linguistic diversity, women's rights, education	[32]
Cheick Modibo Diarra	Mali	1998	Promotion of education, especially in sciences, sustainable development in Africa	[33]
Kitín Muñoz	Spain	22 April 1997	Protection and promotion of indigenous cultures and their environment	[34]
Grand Duchess María Teresa of Luxembourg	Luxembourg	10 June 1997	Education, Women's rights, microfinance and campaign against poverty	[35]
Omer Zülfü Livaneli	Turkey	20 September 1996	Promotion of peace and tolerance through music and promotion of human rights	[36]
Rigoberta Menchu Túm	Guatemala	21 June 1996	Promotion of Culture of Peace, protection of rights of indigenous people	[37]
Zurab Tsereteli	Georgia	30 March 1996	Cultural and artistic projects	[38]
Kim Phuc Phan Thi	Vietnam	10 November 1994	Protection and education for children, orphans and innocent victims of war	[39]
Montserrat Caballé	Spain	22 April 1994	Fundraising for children in distress and victims of war	[40]
Jean Michel Jarre	France	24 May 1993	Protection of the environment (water, fight against desertification, renewable energies), youth and tolerance, safeguarding of World Heritage	[41]
Pierre Bergé	France	2 July 1993	Campaign against HIV/AIDS, human rights, Cultural Heritage	[42]
Ute-Henriette Ohoven	Germany	1992	UNESCO Special Ambassador for Education of Children in Need	[43]
Susana Rinaldi	Argentina	28 April 1992	Street children, Culture of Peace	[44]
Princess Firyal of Jordan	Jordan	1992	Promotion of the Education for All initiative, humanitarian actions, World Heritage, women's rights, especially Arab women	[45]
Pierre Cardin	France	1991	Promotion of the Chernobyl Program, creation of the Six Flags of Tolerance in 1995 and distribution in UNESCO Member States	[46]
Ivry Gitlis	Israel	1990	Support of education and Culture of Peace and Tolerance	[47]
Miguel Angel Estrella	Argentina	26 October 1989	Promotion of Culture of Peace and tolerance through music	[48]
Sheikh Ghassan I. Shaker	Saudi Arabia	1989	Fundraising, children and women in need, victims of war, education, microfinance	[49]
Honorary Ambassadors
Laura Welch Bush	United States	13 February 2003^[5]	UNESCO Honorary Ambassador for the Decade of Literacy in the context of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003–2012)	[50]

Former Ambassadors

Name	Country	Tenure as Ambassador	Link
Marin Constantin	Romania	1992–2011	[51]
Ikuo Hirayama	Japan	1989–2009	[52]
Lily Marinho	Brazil	1999–2011	[53]
Yehudi Menuhin	Switzerland United Kingdom	1992–1999	^[6]
Mstislav Rostropovich	Russia	1998–2007	^[6]
Sheikh Ghassan I. Shaker	Oman	1989–2011	[54][55]