“Let us seize the moment to move forward, together, to ensure the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the end of the Decade of Action and Delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley
CO-CHAIR OF THE SDG ADVOCATES
Mia Mottley is the 8th Prime Minister of Barbados. She became the first woman to occupy the high office, following the general elections on May 24th, 2018. Prime Minister Mottley has campaigned extensively for climate action and debt sustainability in middle-income countries and small states. In 2021 she was awarded the Champions of the Earth Award for her leadership.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau
CO-CHAIR OF THE SDG ADVOCATES
Prime Minister Trudeau was elected Leader of the Liberal Party in April 2013. He has been a strong advocate for climate action and nature protection, the empowerment of women and girls around the world, and ensuring an inclusive and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To build a better future for people and the planet, we must all place the values of inclusion and sustainability at the heart of everything we do. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim to create a world that is fair, equal, and peaceful, with clean air and clean water for everyone. As Co-Chair of the SDG Advocates group, I look forward to rallying countries, governments, the private sector, and others, to come together to accelerate our progress and continue to raise our voices - and our ambition - on the path to 2030”
“Agenda 2030 requires citizens, civil society, academia, scientists, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector to work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Ownership and participation are key.”
Her Majesty Queen Mathilde
Her Majesty the Queen ascended to the throne in 2013. She is the honorary President of both Child Focus, a foundation for missing and sexually exploited children, and UNICEF Belgium. In 2001, Queen Mathilde established the Princess Mathilde Fund (now the Queen Mathilde Fund) to promote the care of vulnerable people. As an SDG Advocate, she is particularly focused on mental health.
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser
Her Highness (HH) Sheikha Moza bint Nasser has played an active role in spearheading social and educational reforms in Qatar and around the world for the past two decades. HH works with the United Nations to support global education and other key areas of development for marginalised children and youth, through her role as Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, among other UN roles. In response to growing global needs, HH launched two initiatives that aim to foster development and stability for a better future; Education Above All, delivering quality education to out of school children, and Silatech, economically and socially empowering marginalised youth globally.
“The desire to learn is one of the most powerful forces of human nature. And it is in every child. Helping children fulfill that innate desire is the responsibility of us all.”
“Education holds the key to our development. We must continue to give priority attention to the sector because it is the bedrock of any development.”
His Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, 14th Emir of Kano
The 14th Emir of Kano, His Highness (HH) Muhammad Sanusi II was turbaned in June of 2014. Prior to ascending the throne, HH was the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He was also at a time the Chief Risk Officer and Group CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Plc which was then Nigeria’s largest bank. He is credited with reforming the financial sector of Nigeria and is currently working on attracting investments in energy and manufacturing in his capacity as chairman of the Kano state Investment Advisory Committee. HH holds degrees in economics and Islamic law. HH is focused on peace, public health, girl-child education advocacy, job creation and reforms of Muslim family law.
Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis is a film writer and director, responsible for films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Mr Bean, Love Actually, and most recently About Time and Yesterday. In the other half of Richard’s life he is co-founder and vice-chair of Comic Relief. He has created the fundraising event Red Nose Day, in which he co-produced 16 live nights for the BBC since 1988 and the charity has made over £1.3 Billion for projects in the UK and internationally during that time. In 2015, he helped bring Red Nose Day to the United States with the partnership of NBC and Walgreens - where it has so far raised nearly $150 million to help children in the USA and round the world.
“The SDGs are the definitive plan for tackling the greatest challenges facing humankind and our planet - a comprehensive roadmap to end extreme poverty, tackle climate change and fight inequality and injustice. ”
“For centuries, indigenous peoples have protected the environment, which provides them food, medicine and so much more. Now it’s time to protect their unique traditional knowledge that can bring concrete solutions to implement sustainable development goals and fight climate change.”
Hindou Ibrahim
Ms. Ibrahim is an expert in indigenous peoples’ adaptation to climate change, traditional ecological knowledge, and climate change mitigation strategies. She is Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change. From a Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, Ms. Ibrahim founded the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) and works to empower indigenous voices and ensure their inclusion on international platforms. She lead several concrete projects that improved access to basic need of indigenous peoples, while promoting their unique contribution to the protection of the environment. 3D participatory mapping, for instance, helps to prevent resources-based conflicts in one of the poorest and most vulnerable region of the world.
BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment. The quartet consists of JISOO, JENNIE, ROSÉ, and LISA. In 2019, BLACKPINK became the first female K-pop act invited to perform at Coachella, the largest music festival in the U.S. In 2020, BLACKPINK became the first K-pop girl group to surpass 1.3 million in album sales. Additionally, BLACKPINK’s official YouTube channel recently surpassed 65 million subscribers, making them the most subscribed artist on the platform. The band's global influence keeps growing and each of the members have been active global ambassadors for renown luxury brands.
BLACKPINK was appointed as Advocates for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) in 2020 and has been delivering powerful messages to the world ever since.
“We truly believe in the importance of collective action. We will only be able to make a difference when we come together, for the good of everyone. Now is the time to act for a safer tomorrow and a better future.”
“There is vast potential to be tapped in the dreams, aspirations, abilities and determination of girls and young women, so that they can become the driving force of their own transformation.”
Graça Machel
Graça Machel is an African stateswoman whose decades long professional and public life is rooted in international advocacy for women and children’s rights. Machel has created three non-governmental organizations in her own right. She founded and serves as President of the Foundation for Community Development and the Zizile Institute for Child Development. She created the Graça Machel Trust in 2010 where she focuses on advocating for women’s economic and financial empowerment, food security and nutrition, education for all, as well as good governance. Graça Machel has dedicated her life to improving the fate of women and children, inspiring hope, and building a more just and equitable world for us all.
Dia Mirza
Dia Mirza is an award-winning Actor, Producer, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador & United Nations Secretary-General Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals. As a champion of nature, Dia Mirza dons many a hat with élan and ease. Today, Dia Mirza has become the voice of environmental and wildlife conservation in the country and a torchbearer for causes related to nature.
“It’s important to recognise that our health and well-being are connected to the environment and when we harm the environment, we actually harm ourselves.”
“The scale and size of the challenges the world faces today, like poverty, inequality, and climate change, require all of us to join forces and develop new solutions, many of which can be enabled or accelerated through digital technology. As we aspire to live our mission to create opportunity for everyone, everywhere, we look forward to partnering with governments, industries, and civil society on the UN’s 17 SDGs by contributing our creativity, expertise, and know-how to unleash the power of digital technology.”
Brad Smith
As Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President, Brad Smith leads a team of more than 1,900 professionals across 120 nations. He has spearheaded the company’s work on critical issues at the nexus of technology and society - including but not limited to: cybersecurity, privacy, artificial intelligence, environmental sustainability, human rights, immigration and philanthropy.
Smith also coauthored the bestseller Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age with colleague Carol Ann Browne. The work urges both the tech sector to assume more responsibility and global governments to move faster to address the new challenges that technology has introduced. To this end, Smith has testified before the U.S congress and other governments numerous times. Consequently, The New York Times has called Smith “a de facto ambassador for the technology industry at large” and The Australian Financial Review has described him as “one of the technology industry’s most respected figures.”
Kailash Satyarthi
Mr. Kailash Satyarthi has been a tireless advocate of children’s rights globally, for more than four decades. Through his organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan, he has directly rescued more than 100,000 children from child labour, slavery, trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The Global March Against Child Labour, which he led, galvanized support in 103 countries resulting in the adoption of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which in 2020, it became the only universally ratified convention in the history of the ILO. In 2014, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifetime of struggle against the exploitation of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. He and the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation are leading the global Fair Share to End Child Labour Campaign, to address the inequality, injustice and discrimination that lie at the core of child labour.
He has dedicated his life to realizing his vision of ending violence against children and building a world where all every child is free to be a child.
“Peace, justice and sustainability will only be achieved when every child is free, safe, healthy and educated. Every child matters.”
“Leaving no one behind means giving way for the most vulnerable segments of society to move from the back of the line to the front, so they can lead.”
Edward (Eddie) Ndopu
Mr. Ndopu is an award winning, internationally acclaimed activist and humanitarian. Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at age two and given only five years to live, he has gone on to become a beacon of hope and possibility for people with disabilities around the world. Mr. Ndopu currently serves as Special Advisor to RTW Investments, a leading investor in scientific and medical innovation. He has also advised organizations such as the World Economic Forum, UN Women and Amnesty International. Mr. Ndopu holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Oxford University and is currently setting in motion plans to deliver a televised address to the UN from Space, in an effort to inspire greater ambition around the SDGs. This will make him the first physically disabled person to travel into space.
Valentina Muñoz Rabanal
Valentina, known as @chica.rosadita on social media, is an influencer, a youth feminist activist and a digital rights advocate. In 2018, she was part of the first female team to become world champion of the First LEGO League international robotics competition. In 2020, she was selected as one of the most influential young people in Chile by Ashoka and recognized as the youngest programmer to contribute to the construction of the Artificial Intelligence Policy in her country. Now 19 years old, she is the President of the Latin American Association of Young Women for Ideas (AMUJI ONG) and is a prominent figure in the tech community with more than 19k followers on Instagram.
“As the youngest SDG Advocate, I want to be a voice for youth, especially for girls, to improve intergenerational dialogue in decision-making places, and to lay the groundwork to establish digital rights around the world”
“The SDGs are the supreme test of politics. Will the world’s governments devote the small fraction of the world’s wealth needed to end poverty and save the planet, or will too many governments continue to favor the rich and wreck the planet? The jury is out and the stakes could not be higher.”
Jeffrey D. Sachs
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed the Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is also Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development. He has been advisor to three United Nations Secretaries-General. He spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, where he received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. He has authored numerous bestseller books, most recently A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism (2018). Sachs was twice named as Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders, and was ranked by The Economist among the top three most influential living economists.
“The Sustainable Development Goals are the most ambitious endeavor of humanity to address the challenges it faces - they must serve as basis for a global movement that will reach everyone on this planet.”
Forest Whitaker
Mr. Whitaker is an actor, producer and founder of the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative which creates programmes to foster peace and reconciliation in disadvantaged and fragile communities. He is also Chair and Co-Founder of the International Institute for Peace at Rutgers University. In 2014, Mr. Whitaker was appointed an Advocate for Children Affected by War with the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. That same year, he was designated a UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation.
Hamdi Ulukaya
Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO of Chobani and Founder of Tent Partnership for Refugees, is largely recognized for his work on the refugee crisis as well as his innovative approach to business. He was appointed as Eminent Advocate by UNHCR, has received many awards including the Oslo Business for Peace Award, George H. W Bush Points of Light Award, and was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People.
“I am honored to join forces with the United Nations SDG Advocates, a group of distinguished leaders, thinkers and activists. I thank the Secretary General for his leadership and passion in driving communities and governments across the globe toward critical commitments that will ensure a solutions-based approach to the world’s most vexing problems – climate change, hunger and famine, the refugee crisis, poverty, justice, equity and inclusion, to name a few. I am humbled to do my part to help the Secretary General and the Advocates inspire others to take actions that will help shape the future and provide for a healthy, safe, prosperous world for our children”