The UN Secretary-General has appointed Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Advocates, including Queen Mathilde of Belgium, the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Shakira, Jeffrey Sachs, and Messi to help generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030. The Advocates' tasks, according to the Secretary-General include promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, raising awareness of the integrated nature of the SDGs, and fostering the engagement of new stakeholders in implementing the SDGs.
The Co-chairs for the Group are John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana, and Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway. Its members include Heads of State and Government, business and political leaders, prominent academia, and others who have shown leadership in their fields.
The Advocates include: Richard Curtis, screenwriter, producer and film Director; Dho Young-Shim, Chairperson, UN World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty Foundation; Leymah Gbowee, Director, Gbowee Peace Foundation; Jack Ma, Founder and Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group; Graça Machel, President, Foundation for Community Development; Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar; Alaa Murabit, Founder, The Voice of Libyan
Women; Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever; Forest Whitaker, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation; and Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank.
For further information see: http://sd.iisd.org/news/un-secretary-general-appoints-sdg-advocates/