United Nations Messengers of Peace facts for kids
United Nations Messenger of Peace is a title bestowed by the United Nations to "distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature and sports, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations."
The messengers are initially chosen for a period of three years; although three of the current twelve messengers, Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall, and Yo-Yo Ma have served for more than ten years.
The Messengers of Peace scheme was instigated in 1997 as a central addition to the system of UN goodwill ambassadors and honorary ambassadors, which has been run by the different UN agencies since 1954, when UNICEF appointed Danny Kaye as its first goodwill ambassador.
Whilst the goodwill and honorary ambassadors mainly promote the work of the UN agency they are ambassador for, the messengers of peace are intended to promote the work of the United Nations in general and are appointed directly by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Current messengers
- Michael Douglas - designated 1998
- Jane Goodall - designated 2002
- Yo-Yo Ma - designated 2006
- Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein - designated 2007
- Daniel Barenboim - designated 2007
- Paulo Coelho - designated 2007
- Midori Goto - designated 2007
- Charlize Theron - designated 2008
- Stevie Wonder - designated 2009
- Edward Norton - designated 2010
- Lang Lang - designated 2013
- Leonardo DiCaprio - designated 2014
- Scott Kelly - designated 2016
- Malala Yousafzai – designated 2017
Former messengers
- Enrico Macias - designated 1997
- Elie Wiesel - designated 1998
- Muhammad Ali - designated 1998
- Anna Cataldi - designated 1998
- Luciano Pavarotti - designated 1998
- Vijay Amritraj - designated 2001
- Wynton Marsalis - designated 2001
- George Clooney - designated 2008
- Wangari Maathai - designated 2009
