Lang Lang takes on UN Messenger of Peace role

Photos: Lang Lang designated as UN Messenger of Peace

Lang Lang is no stranger to the UN or humanitarian causes. He spent the past decade as the goodwill ambassador for the United Nations International Children's Fund, or UNICEF. He frequently uses his music to raise funds for UNICEF, including playing a sold-out Carnegie Hall recital in support of the organization's effort to help victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

In 2008, his Lang Lang International Music Foundation took shape, to "inspire and motivate the next generation of classical music lovers and performers and to encourage music performance at all levels as a means of social development for youth, building self-confidence and a drive for excellence", according to a UN release.

"Children and music are my passion," Lang Lang told the ceremony in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium. "I hope to motivate children to have dreams." The pianist said he plans to visit the world's communities and organizations to emphasize "the importance of improving children's lives through education".

Lang Lang joins actors George Clooney and Michael Douglas, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and seven others asked over the years to advocate on behalf of the UN as a Messenger of Peace. Although Lang Lang is the first person from China to receive the honor, he is not the first person of Chinese descent to do so. Ma, the 2006 Messenger of Peace, was born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in the US.

Secretary-General Ban called Lang Lang "a true global citizen", saying the pianist "collects people not only through his music but through his passion to build a better world through education".

Instigated in 1998, the title of Messenger of Peace is bestowed on "distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature and sports, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations".

The messengers initially are chosen for three years, although three of the current 12 messengers — Douglas (1998), Wiesel (1998) and primatologist Jane Goodall (2002) — have served for more than 10 years.

The Messengers of Peace was launched as an addition to the system of UN goodwill ambassadors and honorary ambassadors, which has been run by different UN agencies since 1954, when UNICEF designated US actor Danny Kaye as its first goodwill ambassador.

While the goodwill and honorary ambassadors mainly promote the work of the UN agency they are ambassador for, the Messengers of Peace promote the work of the United Nations in general.

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