18 April 2017
SDG Advocates Address Children’s Rights, PPPs
UN Photo/Mark Garten
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Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, will serve as co-chair of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates Group, replacing former Ghanaian president John Mahama.

The Group is tasked with supporting the UN Secretary-General in generating momentum and commitment toward achieving the SDGs.

11 April 2017: UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates Group, replacing former Ghanaian president John Mahama. Akufo-Addo will serve as co-chair alongside Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, until the end of 2018.

The Group is tasked with supporting the UN Secretary-General in generating momentum and commitment toward achieving the SDGs. It was announced at the World Economic Forum in January 2016.

Among recent activities of the SDG Advocates, Forest Whitaker, actor, producer and founder of the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative, delivered a video message on the UN’s mandate on children and armed conflict. During the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) February 2017 commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the mandate, he noted that the SDGs “fully recognize the rights of children as well as the connection between security and sustainable development.” In April, another member of the Advocates Group, Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Founder and Executive Chairman, and Solberg met with leaders and students in China to highlight the need for innovative public-private partnerships (PPPs) for rural education, inclusive growth, poverty eradication and climate action.

Other Group members include: Graça Machel, President of the Foundation of Community Development and the UN Scientific Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) National Commission in Mozambique; Leo Messi, football player, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador; Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University; Richard Curtis, Screenwriter, Producer and Film Director; Leymah Gbowee, Director, Gbowee Peace Foundation; and Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever. [SDG Advocates Webpage] [DESA News] [Noon Briefing]

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