BAHIA HARIRI AND MADANJEET SINGH
NAMED UNESCO GOODWILL AMBASSADORS
Paris, November 20 (No.2000-122)
- UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura has named Indian artist, writer and
diplomat Madanjeet Singh and Lebanese Member of Parliament Bahia Hariri UNESCO
Goodwill Ambassadors during two separate ceremonies at Organization Headquarters
on November 16 and 17 respectively.
Mr Singh’s nomination took
place on Thursday evening, as part of the award giving ceremony of the UNESCO-Madanjeet
Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence, created by UNESCO
in 1995 and sponsored by Mr Singh. The Prize is awarded every two years.
A former activist in Mahatma
Gandhi’s non-violent Quit India movement against British rule, Mr Singh was
named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador “in recognition of his dedication to the
Organization’s aims and ideals” and “for his support to the UNESCO project
in South Asia ‘Integrated Education, Health and Capacity Buidling for
Adolescent Girls’”.
During the ceremony, Mr
Matsuura declared that the “Goodwill Ambassadors are outstanding creative
personalities in their various fields of activity, and they generously give of
their efforts and time to help make UNESCO’s work and ideals better known to
the world at large through their talent, celebrity and personal charisma.”
Upon accepting the nomination,
Mr Singh spoke of his long-standing relationship with UNESCO whose ideals, he
said, are “in full harmony with those of the Apostle of Peace, Mahatma Gandhi”.
Declaring himself “a devotee
of UNESCO”, Mr Singh said it is “unlike any other specialised United Nations
agency” and described it as dealing with humanity’s aspirations,
self-perception and dreams, which together make up for human civilisation.
On Friday, Lebanese Member of
Parliament and Vice President of the Women’s Commission of the Arab
Inter-Parliamentary Union was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador “in recognition
of her support to UNESCO’s programmes in favour of women and girls in the Arab
States”.
On this occasion, the
Director-General declared: “You have contributed to preserve, with us, the
cultural and natural heritage of Lebanon, within the framework of our shared
projects: ‘Memory and Belonging’, ‘Urban Development and Fresh Water
Resources’ as well as the pilot site of the MOST Project ‘Growing Up in
Cities’ launched with the children of the ancient coastal city of Saida.”
Mr Matsuura added: “I know that
tomorrow, in Cairo, at the Summit devoted to women and the media, as in coming
official meetings, you will be our standard bearer to speak about our message of
peace, tolerance, of the defence of children and the rights of women.”
Ms Hariri stressed that the
nomination opened up “a new field of action” to her and declared: “The
condition of Arab women and the question of democracy are the weakest link in
our society. Much work is required and the road to development and prosperity
for all is a long one. This is even more difficult in a world torn by conflicts,
in which fanaticism and might rule”.
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