Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as one of the advocates to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made the appointment on Thursday.
The Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group was officially launched on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland.
The co-chairs of the group are Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
World renowned Argentine-born footballer Leo Messi and Colombian singer and activist Shakira Mebarak have also been appointed as the advocates.
Members of the advocacy group include Queen Mathilde of Belgium; Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden; Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of the Chinese Alibaba Group of Internet-based businesses.
The other advocates are: Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, co-founder of the Qatar Foundation; screenwriter, producer and film director Richard Curtis; Dho Young-Shim, chairperson of the UN World Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism Foundation; Leymah Gbowee, director of the Gbowee Peace; Graça Machel, president of the Foundation for Community Development; Alaa Murabit; founder of The Voice of Libyan Women; Paul Polman, chief executive officer of Unilever; Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Colombia University; actor Forest Whitaker, founder of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative.
The 17 Global Goals were adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in New York in September last year. The goals represent a commitment by all nations to work together to end poverty, build peace and secure a life of dignity and a healthy planet for present and future generations.
