March 29, 2024 17:48 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
PM Modi to kickstart BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign from Meerut | Kangana Ranaut in Mandi: 'Don't think I am a heroine, consider me as your sister and daughter' | Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav demand high-level probe into Mukhtar Ansari's death | PM Modi has mastered art of manipulating democracy, hurting Constitution: Mallikarjun Kharge | Mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest at 63
UN refugee agency appoints Cate Blanchett as global Goodwill Ambassador

UN refugee agency appoints Cate Blanchett as global Goodwill Ambassador

India Blooms News Service | | 03 May 2016, 07:33 am
New York, May 3 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations refugee agency on Monday announced the appointment of Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett as a global Goodwill Ambassador.

The announcement comes as  Blanchett returns from a mission to Jordan to witness the ongoing humanitarian operation for people displaced by the conflict in Syria.

“I am deeply proud to take on this role,”  Blanchett said in a press release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“There has never been a more crucial time to stand with refugees and show solidarity. We are living through an unprecedented crisis, and there must be shared responsibility worldwide. It feels like we’re at a fork in the road, do we go down the compassionate path or do we go down the path of intolerance?” she asked

During her trip,  Blanchett met Syrian refugee families to hear first-hand about the perilous journeys they had undertaken and the daily challenges they face. She said that, as a mother, she wanted her children to go down the compassionate path.

“There’s much more opportunity, there’s much more optimism and there is a solution down that path,” she stressed.

Prior to her appointment,  Blanchett worked with UNHCR for more than a year to raise awareness about the forcibly displaced. In 2015, she travelled to Lebanon to meet Syrian refugees and to hear about the experiences of stateless people as part of her support for UNHCR’s #IBelong campaign.

She has also supported World Refugee Day, UNHCR’s appeal for the Europe refugee crisis, and attended the Women in the World Conference in New Delhi to represent UNHCR and moderate a high-level panel discussion on the global refugee crisis.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said he was “very pleased” that Blanchett had taken on this new role.

“Goodwill Ambassadors play a pivotal role in creating better public understanding and support for refugees, and never has there been a greater need to build these bridges,”  Grandi said.

“She has already demonstrated great commitment to the cause and we look forward to seeing her inspire many more people in her new role,” he added.

Photo: Video capture UNHCR

 

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.