UNICEF names Jordan’s Queen Rania first-ever Eminent Advocate for Children

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appointed Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan as the agency’s first-ever Eminent Advocate for Children.

“Her Majesty Queen Rania has been a tireless champion for children,” UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said on Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the queen agreed to take on the role. “This title recognizes her steadfast commitment to creating a better world for children.”

In her capacity as Eminent Advocate, Queen Rania will champion children’s issues and promote the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), objectives which by 2015 aim to slash poverty and other global ills, in addition to improving the health, education and well-being of children.

“For the millions of children whose voices are not being heard, let us commit to take a stand, and take a step, and make real strides for child survival and education,” said Queen Rania, who, as a member of the UNICEF Global Leadership Initiative for Children, has long been an enthusiastic supporter of the agency’s activities in the Arab world as well as globally.

“I am convinced that transformational change is just the sum of many small steps – footprints marking a path ahead where none existed before,” she added.