Post by Helen on Nov 16, 2005 19:02:20 GMT
At the same ceremony, FAO Director-General Diouf will introduce the newly appointed FAO Goodwill Ambassadors: Paraguay's First Lady Ms María Gloria Penayo de Duarte, to be nominated first Extraordinary Ambassador of FAO; world athletics champion (discus throw) Beatrice Faumuina (New Zealand) and Irish singer Ronan Keating.
Irish singer Ronan Keating was 18 when he made his debut. Now, after ten years, he is still in the public eye. His songs "Life is a rollercoaster", "When you say nothing at all", "Father and son", and "If tomorrow never comes" have become classics.
In June 2004, Ronan made a trip that was to change his life. He visited farmers and families in Ghana and other developing countries and was shocked at the sight of poverty and how unfair trade laws were destroying livelihoods.
Ronan already supports many charities and set up his own (Marie Keating Foundation) after he lost his mother to cancer in 1998.
"This isn't about people at home putting their hands in their pockets," Ronan says. "This is about joining a campaign to get our government to use their position on the IMF, the World Bank and WTO to change things."
Since 1999, FAO Goodwill Ambassadors contribute to FAO's mission by helping to put the spotlight on the problem of hunger.
www.agriculture.gov.ie/index.jsp?file=pressrel/2005/195-2005.xml
MINISTER SMITH CONGRATULATES RONAN KEATING ON HIS APPOINTMENT TO THE POST OF
GOODWILL AMBASSADOR TO THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANISATION
Mr Brendan Smith TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, today congratulated Ronan Keating on his appointment to the post of goodwill ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. He joins 23 other goodwill ambassadors to the organisation, from a wide range of countries including Brazil, Lebanon, Italy, and Senegal. These luminaries come from such diverse fields as sport, music and the arts. Minister Smith noted that the wide-ranging nature and nationalities of these Ambassadors was testament to the fact that “concerted international efforts are required to combat world hunger”.
In a letter to Ronan Keating, Minister Smith said: “It is an honour for this country that you are the first Irish person to be chosen as a Goodwill Ambassador to the organisation. It is also a testament to the role that Ireland and its citizens have played towards combating world hunger, poverty and under-development in agriculture and rural development.”
Ronan Keating was awarded the honour at a special ceremony at the FAO headquarters in Rome. This was held to coincide with World Food Day celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the foundation of FAO. Although Minister Smith was unable to attend, Ambassador Cogan, Ireland's Permanent Representative to the FAO represented Ireland at this event.
breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=9344906&p==y593456yz
Ronan Keating appointed ambassador to fight hunger
Pop star Ronan Keating was today appointed as a goodwill ambassador for a campaign to combat world hunger.
The 28-year-old former Boyzone singer is to promote the work of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Minister of State for Agriculture Brendan Smith said it was a great honour for Keating to be the first Irish person in the role, after his appointment at a special ceremony at the FAO’s headquarters in Rome today.
“It is also a testament to the role that Ireland and its citizens have played towards combating world hunger, poverty and under-development in agriculture and rural development,” he wrote in a letter to Keating.
The FAO was set up 60 years ago today to improve agricultural and living standards in poor countries and receives an annual contribution of around €900,000 from the Department of Agriculture.
The 23 goodwill abassadors for the FAO, which include American singer Dionne Warwick and Italian soccer player Roberto Baggio, are tasked with attracting public attention to the fact that some 850 million people continue to suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition.
Around 12 million people in Africa face chronic food shortages between now and the spring harvest, particularly in Malawi where some regions have received no rain for four years.
Keating, who has clocked up a dozen Top 10 singles during his solo career,has been heavily involved in charity work for several years. He helped setup the Marie Keating foundation to help women fight breast cancer after his mother died from the disease in 1998.
During a visit to Ghana last year, he was said to be shocked at the sight ofpoverty and how unfair trade laws were destroying livelihoods, and became atrade justice ambassador for the charity Christian Aid.
www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/keating%20awarded%20
role%20as%20goodwill%20ambassador
KEATING AWARDED ROLE AS GOODWILL AMBASSADOR
Irish heart-throb RONAN KEATING has become a goodwill ambassador in a bid tobeat world hunger.
The former BOYZONE frontman, who is a keen human rights campaigner, has beenappointed to promote the United Nations' Food And Agriculture Organisation (FAO) - and he is the first Irishman to step into the role.
Irish Minister Of State For Agriculture BRENDAN SMITH says, "It is a testament to the role that Ireland and its citizens have played towards combating world hunger, poverty and under-development in agriculture andrural development."
Keating joins fellow celebrity FAO ambassadors DIONNE WARWICK and Italian soccer star ROBERTO BAGGIO.
www.fao.org/audiocatalogue/index.jsp?lang=EN
Ronan Keating is newly nominated FAO Goodwill Ambassador. With over seventeenth million album sales, the Irish pop singer admits that he has
been given much; but, as he was receiving his new title from FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf, in a special ceremony in Rome, Ronan Keating said it is his duty to give back and make a difference.
no wonder we all adore him 