FAO Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. FAO goodwill ambassadors are celebrity advocates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations who use their talent and fame to advocate for the organization.
The Goodwill Ambassador Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been in place since 1999. The main purpose of the programme is to increase public awareness and to disseminate information on issues related to food security and hunger.
FAO encourages its goodwill ambassadors to actively use their talents and influence, and to commit themselves personally and professionally, to assist the organization in raising public awareness of the urgent need to eradicate hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity, and in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Types of FAO Goodwill Ambassadors FAO has three types of Goodwill Ambassadors: The FAO Global Goodwill Ambassador, who are worldwide known celebrities from the worlds of arts, sports, literature, sciences and other fields of public importance. The FAO Special Goodwill Ambassador, who are high-level personalities usually from the field of research or science, who have excelled in an area relevant to the one for which they become special Ambassadors. The FAO National Goodwill Ambassador, who are personalities with local appeal, the work of which they support mainly within the country of their nomination.
Current FAO Goodwill Ambassadors Current goodwill ambassadors, and the year they were appointed: NameLocationReferencesNotesQueen Letizia2015Special Goodwill Ambassador for NutritionKing Letsie III2016Special Goodwill Ambassador for NutritionDarine El-Khatib2017Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North AfricaPrincess Basma bint Ali2016Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North AfricaPrincess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn2016Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Asia and the PacificKatsuhiro Nakamura2017National Goodwill Ambassador for Asia and the PacificHiroko Kuniya2017National Goodwill Ambassador for Asia and the PacificDiarmuid Gavin2022National Goodwill Ambassador for EuropeRodrigo Pacheco2022National Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America and the Caribbean
Former FAO Goodwill Ambassadors Former goodwill ambassadors, and the year they were appointed:
Name Location References Notes Thomas Pesquet 2021 Miriam Makeba 1999 Dee Dee Bridgewater 1999 Gina Lollobrigida 1999 Rita Levi-Montalcini 1999 Gong Li 2000 Youssou N'Dour 2000 Gilberto Gil 2001 Majida El Roumi 2001 Albano Carrisi 2001 Mory Kanté 2001 Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie 2002 Roberto Baggio 2002 Massimo Ranieri 2002 Dionne Warwick 2002 Italian Singers’ Soccer Team 2002 Khaled 2003 Maná 2003 Noa 2003 Justine Pasek , 2003 Oumou Sangaré 2003 Raúl 2004 Carla Fracci 2004 Ronan Keating 2005 Beatrice Faumuina 2005 Chucho Valdés 2006 María Gloria Penayo De Duarte 2006 Extraordinary Ambassador Suzanne Mubarak 2008 Carl Lewis 2009 Anggun , 2009 Margarita Cedeño de Fernández 2009 Pierre Cardin 2009 Fanny Lu 2009 Raoul Bova 2010 Susan Sarandon 2010 Celine Dion 2010 Lea Salonga 2010 Patrick Vieira 2010 Jeremy Irons 2011 Evo Morales 2012 Special Ambassador to the FAO for the International Year of Quinoa Prince Laurent of Belgium 2014 Special Ambassador to the FAO for Forests and the Environment Leyla Aliyeva 2015 Abdelouahab Zaid 2015 Bharrat Jagdeo 2015 Special Ambassador to the FAO for Forests and the Environment Joyce Boye 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for the International Year of Pulses Kadambot Siddique 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for the International Year of Pulses Maggie Habib 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for the International Year of Pulses Jenny Chandler 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for the International Year of Pulses Patricia Juárez Arango 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for the International Year of Pulses Elizabeth Mpofu 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for the International Year of Pulses Carlo Petrini 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for Zero Hunger Guadalupe Valdez 2016 Special Ambassador to the FAO for Zero Hunger Kanayo F. Nwanze 2017 Special Ambassador to the FAO for Zero Hunger
See also Goodwill Ambassador FAO Goodwill Ambassador UNDP Goodwill Ambassador UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNODC Goodwill Ambassador UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador WFP Goodwill Ambassador WHO Goodwill Ambassador
References
External links Food and Agriculture Organization