At a special event on Tuesday at UNICEF Headquarters in New York, global pop star Katy Perry was appointed the newest Goodwill Ambassador for the global children’s organization’s.
In her new role, the award-winning singer/songwriter will have a special focus on engaging young people in the agency’s work to improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children and adolescents.
“You are going to make a huge difference, specially through social media in helping us reach youth to get them more involved in global conversations but also in acting locally,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake told Perry at a special ceremony.
As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Perry will work to engage young people in speaking out about the issues they believe are most important in their own lives and enlisting them more directly in coming up with solutions to those challenges.
She will focus her outreach especially on children and adolescents who are most vulnerable, including those living in severe poverty, affected by violence, abuse, and neglect, and in emergency and conflict situations.
Earlier this year, Perry visited Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, as part of a UNICEF mission, bringing much-needed attention to the situation of children there.
“I was really inspired to write this song “Unconditionally” based on my experience in Madagascar and seeing these children just have the currency of love between them and exchanging that. So, you know, I really believe in UNICEF I really believe that it’s important for us as adults to look after the children. They are innocent, they deserve that innocence and their happiness and their joy is pure and it should be maintained,” explained Perry.
In October, Perry joined in UNICEF’s celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child, lending her hit song “Roar” to the soundtrack of a new PSA to inspire girls and help them become tomorrow’s champions.
Most recently, she has called on her massive social media following to support UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts for children, including those affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines in early November.
