Carl Lewis, Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, visits Dominican Republic
The United Nations reports on the visit of nine-time Olympic gold
medalist and United Nations advocate Carl Lewis to the Dominican
Republic and Haiti to meet with national leaders and visit forestry and
agricultural projects.
The United States track star, who was designated a Goodwill Ambassador
for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in October 2009, will
highlight the International Year of Forests during his stop in the
Dominican Republic.
In February the UN kicked off a year-long celebration to raise
awareness of the valuable role of forests, on which at least 1.6 billion
people depend for their daily livelihoods and subsistence needs.
Mr. Lewis will also spotlight a global campaign by FAO to end hunger
known as "The 1billionhungry project," through which people can voice
their outrage about world hunger by adding their names to an online
petition. The campaign uses a yellow whistle as an icon encouraging
people to blow the whistle against this global scourge.
The local visit is coordinated by the UN and the Office of the First
Lady Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, who is also a Goodwill Ambassador
for the FAO.