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Metin Arditi to be named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova will name Swiss writer, academic, businessman and philanthropist Metin Arditi, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. The nomination ceremony will take place at 7 p.m on 18 December at UNESCO鈥檚 Paris Headquarters.
Often described as a modern-day renaissance man, Metin Arditi combines talents in business, science and the arts with an unequivocal commitment to peace and development. The title of Goodwill Ambassador comes in recognition of his work with young Israeli and Palestinian musicians through his Instruments for Peace Foundation, and for his attachment to UNESCO鈥檚 ideals and values.
Metin Arditi was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1945 and moved to Switzerland at the age of seven. He earned degrees in engineering, physics and business administration, is an accomplished author and winner of several literary awards, including the Prix Lipp Suisse 2006 (鈥淟a Pension Marguerite鈥) and the Prix des auditeurs de la Radio suisse romande (鈥淟鈥橧mprevisible鈥).
In 1988, he created the Arditi Foundation to support talented students from Geneva and Lausanne. This was followed in 1996 by the Foundation of the l鈥橭rchestre de la Suisse romande, which helped promising young musicians.
More recently, in 2009, with Elias Sanbar, Palestinian writer and Ambassador of Palestine to UNESCO, he created the Instruments for Peace Foundation, which offers music education for young Israelis and Palestinians. Mr Arditi also works closely with many of Geneva鈥檚 leading cultural organizations.
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors are an outstanding group of celebrity advocates who spread the ideals of UNESCO through their name and fame. They extend and amplify UNESCO's work and mission and have generously accepted to use their talent and status to help focus the world's attention on the work of UNESCO. Through their careers and humanitarian commitment they have made an important contribution towards UNESCO's work in education, culture, science, communication and information.
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Journalists wishing to attend the nomination ceremony require accreditation
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