Baaba Maal Named United Nations Goodwill Ambassador

Grammy Award winning Senegalese singer Baaba Maal has today been appointed by the United Nations as a Goodwill Ambassador, an honorary spokesperson representing the UN's interests, raising awareness, and mobilizing support.

Seeing no difference between reaching people as a musician and as a humanitarian, between being the voice of Wakanda in Marvel's Black Panther films and energetically advocating urgent and constructive environmental action, his new role will expand on work he has been doing as a Land Ambassador with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Also named today with Baaba Maal is fellow Land Ambassador, the Malian singer, actress and environmental activist Inna Modja, committed to reversing the human-influenced process of desertification, one of the world's major environmental problems, and focusing on the sustainable management of natural resources.

Maal's inspired and innovative Afro-modernist rebel songs have always purposefully and poetically campaigned on behalf of the underprivileged, deprived, environmentally threatened and culturally neglected. His widely acclaimed new album Being dramatically demonstrates how through music Maal evocatively dramatizes themes, issues and problems that consistently engage him, including migration, egalitarianism, technology, climate change, drought, generational conflict, natural wonders, community spirit, women's rights, and the collaborative benefits and disruptive dangers of social media.

Maal's singing voice is one of the most distinctive and admired in the world, but as important to him is his voice as an influential, activist force, and as President of the Naan-K Trust developing solar irrigation projects in his hometown of Podor. His work as a songwriter feeds into his thinking as a principled social reformer and in turn his work as a crusading community leader feeds into his songs. Being a performer and being a UN Goodwill Ambassador, writing a great uplifting new melody and promoting climate change education, are all part of his drive to help make Senegal, Africa, and the world a better, fairer, more connected and collaborative place.

Baaba Maal:

"Being made a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador opens up new possibilities for me. It will help me to do more and give more and continue the progress I have been working towards over the last few decades with my music and my band and my community projects in Senegal. It enables me to knock on more doors when it comes to the religious and political leaders and the banks and institutions who have the power to create opportunities for people. I can advise the leaders and bankers and hopefully influence their decision making on agriculture, fishing, education, the restoration of land, the fight against desertification and the terrible impact of climate change.

I can do more to give power to people who need that power to do things for themselves and not have to rely on help that often never comes. I can do more for the young people and the women fighting so hard to get where they want to get. As a Goodwill Ambassador I can talk on their behalf and help them talk for themselves. It is always difficult to achieve change, there are always struggles and obstacles, but this is not a reason to not try. If you play your role and someone else plays their role and you work together it can make things happen. I have my role and I am very happy to take on this new responsibility, to show that Africa is moving forward and will continue to do so."

The UNCCD is deeply committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 15.3, which is to achieve a land degradation-neutral world by 2030.

The Goodwill Ambassadors will help the UNCCD in its efforts to reduce poverty, especially among the climate-vulnerable land-dependent peoples of the world. The UNCCD looks forward to working with them to achieve a land degradation-neutral world, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, said:

"The Goodwill Ambassadors can help to bring more attention to the issues that the UNCCD promotes and encourage action towards achieving the objectives of the UNCCD. By participating in activities related to desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD), Goodwill Ambassadors can help to launch more publicity on the UNCCD's strategies and promote effective implementation of the Convention."

"The UNCCD is delighted to welcome Baaba Maal, Inna Modja and Ricky Kej as UNCCD Goodwill Ambassadors and looks forward to working together towards achieving a land degradation-neutral world."

Photo credit - Matthew Donaldson

To post a comment, you must register and login.