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Forbes
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Audrey Hepburn's Life In Pictures
A new graphic novel examines the life and legacy of actress Audrey Hepburn, including what she considered the greatest role of her career: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Justin Hemenway, UNICEF USA Director, Content & Social Media, spoke with the book's illustrator, Christopher Longé, to learn more about how the project came together. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Audrey Hepburn meets mothers and children at a feeding center supported by UNICEF and Swedrelief in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in 1992. © UNICEF/UNI29042/Press Actress, fashion icon, humanitarian — the late UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Audrey Hepburn was all of these things and more. In 'Audrey Hepburn: An Illustrated Biography,' author Eileen Hofer and illustrator Christopher Longé (pen name Christopher) chronicle Hepburn's life in vivid detail, from her adolescence in England and the Nazi-occupied Netherlands to her incredible advocacy for children around the world later in her life. We recently talked to Christopher about this ambitious book and how Hepburn's compassion still inspires today. How did this project first come about? What about Audrey Hepburn's story spoke to you? CHRISTOPHER: I always loved Audrey Hepburn. During my teenage years, when I would come back to the south of France where I live now, I always would take some time to just go back home, watch a movie starring her, listen to a good Beatles record and feel safe here. When I was talking to my publisher in France, Michel Lafon, I asked if he'd ever done a book on Audrey Hepburn. He said, "No, we've got nothing, but why don't you do a graphic novel?" And I said, "Yeah, let's go." From there, I was thinking to collaborate with a woman because a big part of Audrey Hepburn's story is a girl missing her father. I contacted [co-author] Eileen Hofer, and she said, "Are you joking? Right now, I'm in Tolochenaz, [Switzerland] in front of Audrey Hepburn's grave." So it was total weirdness for us. She said, "I think I've got my scenario ready for her." That's how our collaboration began. That's very fortuitous. I can't imagine how big an undertaking this must have been. How did you approach this project? How long did it take for everything to come together? CHRISTOPHER: It's not my first biography, so I knew the process. Eileen worked on the scenario for nearly a year. During that time, I was collecting the info for my side too. Because I really knew the life of Audrey Hepburn, I knew where I was going, but I was still struck by her fame. As I started to look for some photos of her, I said, "Okay, I will find 300, 500 photos of her life." I'm now at about nearly 25,000 different photos of her around the world. So it's amazing. There were lots of elements to work with. I would then send pages to [Audrey's son,] Luca Dotti nearly every week, and he'd send back corrections. As an example, I was asking to get some info about when she was little. At 7, she was in the south of England, and I didn't have any clue about how to draw the house where she used to go on the weekend. Luca said, "I've got nothing, no address." But he was able to give me a photo of the backyard. I looked at all the houses in the neighborhood on Google Maps and I finally found hers. A new illustrated biography of actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn chronicles her travels in support of UNICEF's work for children. © Abrams ComicArts It sounds very painstaking. It's clear so much care went into this book. Early on, you take great pains to show the impact of conflict and war on children. There is some very stark imagery when the Nazis have come into the Netherlands, with one illustration showing a young Audrey huddled on the floor. What is the creative process for depicting these really sensitive moments? CHRISTOPHER: It was heartbreaking for me and for my family because when I was doing all of the research about the Second World War, I filled my head with movies, documentaries about the Holocaust. Everybody in the house was celebrating Christmas and I was here in my studio crying because of all the images that I've got of kids and the [Dutch Hunger Winter]. I would imagine myself in this period so I could be closer to what everybody was feeling. It was very painful. That makes sense. At the same time, you did a remarkable job of capturing her heroism, especially when she was helping the Resistance. That's something I had to keep reminding myself, that she was only a teenager at that point in the timeline. And then she grew up so quickly, moving into the world of acting. it's so dynamic, everything that you're able to capture. What was it like telling that part of her story, and having it span so many different countries and movies? CHRISTOPHER: She was so fascinating. For myself, I could easily put 500 to 1,000 pages of that in the book, because there are so many things to talk about. It's some of the most fun that I've ever had because — it's a weird a feeling — I always thought that she was close to me and helping me go in the right direction. It felt quite easy to go on when we arrived in the section where she's starting to get acting parts. As a child in the Netherlands during World War II, Audrey Hepburn battled severe malnutrition. She received food, clothing and health care from a United Nations agency that predates UNICEF. © Abrams ComicArts I also thought the pages covering her role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador were a really lovely tribute to her humanitarian work. What was involved in capturing that part of her life? CHRISTOPHER: Luckily, Eileen met Christa Roth, a former UNICEF executive and friend of Audrey's. She has a good memory and helped us a lot. There was a recent exhibition for the book at a hotel in Geneva and Christa told us that Audrey used to go there and make speeches on behalf of UNICEF. That was very fun to do. We have a QR code at the end of the book so people can donate. It felt right for us to continue Audrey's philosophy of life and helping UNICEF. That was really appreciated! We're looking at so much uncertainty in the world right now. Are there any lessons that you took away from Audrey's life that you think could inform the moment that we're in now? How do you think she would be responding to current events? CHRISTOPHER: One of my favorite photos of her is when she was holding a little boy from Somalia and you can see the look her eyes that says, "Why do we leave those kids, abandon all those people?" That's very unfair. The humanity that came from her as a brilliant, wonderful woman is something I think we need more of right now. I am hoping books like ours will show that if we can have some more humanity in the world, it would be so much easier. 'Audrey Hepburn: An Illustrated Biography' (Abrams ComicArts) will be released in the U.S. on May 13, 2025.
Forbes
23-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
For The Future, By The Future: UNICEF Clubs Help the World's Children
Young UNICEF Club members from across the country think globally and act locally, organizing community events to support the rights and needs of children around the world. UNICEF National Youth Council member Aryan, right, at the UNICEF USA Youth Leader Retreat in October 2024. As part of the Youth Council, Aryan and 13 other young leaders, ages 14–24, work within UNICEF USA and nationwide to voice the concerns and viewpoints of children and young people. Many National Youth Council members started their volunteer journey by joining or starting a UNICEF Club at their school. © UNICEF USA Volunteering is often the first time a young person feels their impact on their community. They go from being observers to active participants and begin claiming their agency when they realize they don't need to go very far to create change. The power to do so lies within themselves. Often, for the first time, they see someone else's lived experience outside their own. Through this, they then discover what can sometimes feel like the rarest of finds when it comes to human feelings: compassion. Fueled by this compassion, they set out on a journey toward a sense of purpose. One which, in many cases, lasts a lifetime. As George Bernard Shaw wrote, purpose is "the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one." For UNICEF youth volunteers, that mighty purpose is clear: to relentlessly pursue a more equitable world for every child. UNICEF USA is proud to count 752 student-led UNICEF Clubs in 40 states, all of which are leading this effort at the grassroots level. This National Volunteer Week, we are sharing some of their stories. Just as UNICEF will not rest until every child is healthy, educated, protected and respected, neither will they. Elliott, back row, eighth from left, with fellow participants at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event in the Atlanta metro area. As part of the event, Elliott united members from four different UNICEF Clubs for a day focused on child nutrition. He began volunteering with UNICEF because he wanted to make a meaningful impact, especially for displaced and refugee children. Since then, his passion for making a difference has only grown. © UNICEF USA For Southeast Youth Representative Elliott, 18, raising awareness around UNICEF USA's "Healthy" goal means supporting child nutrition globally while inspiring local change through education and advocacy. "I go to school in an area that is food insecure," Elliot shared. "Even if families can afford food, healthy options often aren't available. Many people either don't have enough to eat or only have access to unhealthy food because their area has no other options. Both of which lead to serious physical and mental health challenges. I want to help every child have a bright future." That's why, for this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Elliott and his fellow UNICEF Club memberes organized an event to spotlight food insecurity both abroad and in the U.S. He brought together members from four UNICEF Clubs across the Atlanta metro area to learn and take action together. Attendees rotated through hands-on stations, including making sandwiches for a local food bank and writing letters to their Senators and Representatives advocating for healthier free or reduced-price school lunches. As Elliott put it, "Every child should have access to healthy food. It's the basis of a healthy life." In Arizona, Pariza, center, and fellow UNICEF Club members pack donated books for shipment to school libraries in Kenya. All books were collected through the generosity of their local community. © UNICEF USA As President of her UNICEF Club at a high school in Arizona, Pariza, 18, was looking for a project that, in her words, "perfectly embodied UNICEF." That's when she came across the African Library Project. "We all had books that we had outgrown and were now sitting on our bookshelves, catching dust," she said. "What better idea than giving these books a second life?" Their Club committed to providing a fully stocked school library for children in Kenya. They ended up donating over 2,000 books to African students. On what motivated her to start this project, Pariza explained, "The children in Kenya who received these books all have a dream they wish to accomplish. I hope these books help them start making those dreams come true. Like every child, they deserve the opportunity to have a proper education." At first, the project seemed too daunting, but something remarkable happened: others in the community showed up. "We had reached out to nearby schools for help. When I arrived at one of the schools to pick up books, my jaw dropped," Pariza said. "Rubbing my eyes again and looking at the stack of books, I saw that the school had collected roughly 1,700 books in the first week!" Thanks to the overwhelming response, the Club was able to create two libraries instead of one to ensure every book found a home."I love that our biggest worry went from how we would get 1,000 books to what do we do with all these books?" Pariza said. A good problem to have and a reminder of "how strong we can become when working together to support a cause." From left: Ava with fellow UNICEF Club members Gabrielle and Sarafina at their high school clubs fashion show. © UNICEF USA At first glance, a fashion show might not seem like the most obvious way to raise awareness for child and social protection issues, but one run by a UNICEF Club in Georgia this school year proved otherwise. One of the areas of child protection is mental health, an issue many young people are passionate about since one in seven worldwide struggle with it. Two key elements that support mental well-being? Community and creative self-expression. The student-led fashion show combined the two. 'Arts are often overlooked at our school,' said Ava, 17, the Club's Vice President. 'We wanted to host an event that gave space to students passionate about fashion, music and creativity. A fashion show felt like the perfect way to celebrate self-expression and bring people together.' The Club raised money to support UNICEF flexible funding by selling tickets and concessions, while students across the school came together to support the show and its message. The event became more than just a runway; it became a way to celebrate culture, community and confidence, things often overlooked in day-to-day school life, where comparison and fear of judgment can hinder true creative expression. "We saw students from all grades, backgrounds and cultures come together,' Ava shared. 'Some modeled traditional attire, some helped run the event and others cheered from the audience. It reminded us that community isn't about being the same; it's about using our differences to create something meaningful.' From right: Aryan with Kitty van der Heijden, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships, and Dr. Zeinab Hijazi, UNICEF Global Mental Health Lead, at the Innovative Financing for Mental Health event at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2024. At this event, UNICEF and the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health launched an open letter, signed by more than 40 businesses and organizations, urging for increased investment and action on child and youth mental health worldwide. © UNICEF Aryan, a sophomore in college, first got involved with UNICEF by joining his high school's UNICEF Club in Riverside County, Calif., a place that allowed him, in his words, 'to both teach kids and advocate for the issues that affect them.'During the pandemic, he took his advocacy online, participating in virtual Congressional meetings to speak up for children's rights. At first, speaking in spaces traditionally dominated by adults presented a learning curve for him, but he has since mastered feeling comfortable amplifying his voice and those of his peers, reaching even the highest levels. Now in his third and final year as a UNICEF USA National Youth Council member, Aryan reflected on the significance of being respected as a young person and feels that he genuinely has a seat at the table. A pivotal moment for him occurred last September when he attended the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). 'I was surrounded by government and corporate leaders from around the world, but surprisingly, we were all united for the same cause,' Aryan shared. 'I joined a roundtable with several global leaders and spoke about the need to prioritize mental health investments and explore new public-private partnerships. Afterward, some of those leaders approached me and asked me my viewpoints on mental health from a university student perspective. I felt genuinely validated and energized that my voice was being heard. It meant a lot that adult leaders would seek out my input as a young person, and recognize how we all have perspectives to share that can bridge our generations." Through his volunteer journey, Aryan said one of the most important skills he's developed is learning to be not just a "storyteller" but a 'story-re-teller.' To him, that means "listening deeply and really hearing people,' because only by listening can we 'understand people and our world better.' Ready to start your volunteer journey with UNICEF USA? Take your first step by completing an Advocacy Action at and join or start a UNICEF Club at your school this fall!
Forbes
09-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Bending The Curve For Children In Zambia
Key Club volunteer Aspen Hess lends a hand during a stimulation class for children under age 2 and their caregivers at the UNICEF-supported Kasunbanya Early Childhood Education Insaka (Hub) in Zambia as Cristina Shapiro, back row, second from right, and colleagues from UNICEF USA observe. By Cristina Shapiro At UNICEF USA, our mission is to rally the American people to support children everywhere. We have results to prove that when we invest in them, we build a safer, stronger and more prosperous world. Even with the funding crisis impacting children now, my recent trip to Zambia to visit UNICEF programs reinforced my conviction that it is possible to bend the curve, to radically improve outcomes for the world's children, and the most vulnerable children in particular. At the different program sites, I observed three UNICEF strategic priorities at play — common threads that are part of UNICEF's DNA. They are: Partnership: By partnering with governments at all levels, local NGOs and community leaders, UNICEF is able to reach far and deep while ensuring localized solutions with community buy-in. Integrated service delivery: Solutions that combine health, education, nutrition and social protection at key points of service are more effective — but require flexible funding. Community: Meaningful impact happens when community members show up for each other and leverage UNICEF training to scale proven solutions. Here are some examples of all three of these principles in action. The Manungua Scaling Up Nutrition program is a UNICEF-led, government-supported initiative that is addressing the problem of stunting, which affects 35 percent of Zambian children, by scaling up malnutrition prevention, identification and treatment. Implementation is localized and executed with the help of trained community volunteers to drive improved health and nutrition outcomes. The volunteers, who are almost all women, serve as nutrition promoters, teaching families how to find, cook and preserve local high-nutrient foods. Each is assigned to 10 other households in their rural community. All are given the option of participating in a pooled savings and loan program that helps families weather difficult times. In Zambia, a UNICEF and partner-supported "Catch-up" education program is helping to address learning poverty among third, fourth and fifth grade students. Above, class is in session at Tunduya Elementary School, outside Lusaka. At the Tunduya Elementary School, outside Lusaka, we saw how a catch-up program — developed by UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Education with the motto 'Forward Ever, Backwards Never' — is providing third, fourth and fifth graders with remedial instruction to address Zambia's learning poverty crisis, in which a majority of the nation's 10-year-olds are unable to read a full sentence. Students who participate in the catch-up classes show learning improvements after just one month. Based on these results, the program is being expanded nationwide, and has already been rolled out in 60 percent of Zambian schools. At the Kasunbanya Early Childhood Development (ECD) Hub, or Insaka in Bemba, the local language, I had the opportunity to meet Helen, Angela, Belita and Hildah – four amazing volunteers in the stimulation room for children under age 2. Kasunbanya ECD hub volunteers Helen, Angela, Belita and Hildah visit with Cristina Shapiro and a representative of Key Club International. These inspiring individuals walk an hour each way in difficult, muddy terrain to be there for mothers who come with their babies for health checks, nutrition support and early childhood education services, including the interactive play sessions that are so critical for a child's cognitive and emotional development. The Kasunbanya facility is a demonstration center created by UNICEF in partnership with the government and local NGOs with funding from Key Club International and other donors. It has been so successful that the World Bank is providing the funding needed to create 200 more ECD hubs just like it. These are just three ways UNICEF Zambia is helping to bend the curve for children. With funding cuts threatening the majority of the Zambian health budget, humanitarian assistance is needed more than ever to keep these efforts going, and to continue making a difference in vulnerable children's lives. Visitors from UNICEF USA meet with UNICEF Zambia staff to learn more about how UNICEF is supporting vulnerable children in the country. UNICEF won't stop until every child is healthy, educated, protected and respected. But we need your help. Your lifesaving contribution is 100 percent tax deductible. Cristina Shapiro is UNICEF USA's Chief Strategy Officer and President of the Impact Fund for Children & UNICEF Bridge Fund
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Metro Atlanta city named 3rd ever UNICEF Child Friendly City in US
UNICEF USA, the American chapter of the United Nation's Children's Fund, announced Thursday that a city in metro Atlanta was the third overall Child Friendly City in the U.S. The City of Decatur was named the third Child Friendly City in the United States by UNICEF, joining Houston, Texas and Minneapolis, Minn. The organization said that brought Decatur into a group of just 3,500 municipalities on the planet to hold the designation. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'The commitment, energy and effort displayed by young residents of Decatur on our Teen Leadership Team and Decatur Youth Council is an inspiration to all of us and a reminder that every voice is important when it comes to the work of city government,' Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett said about the new designation. 'My hope is that we as city leaders will continue to listen to youth voices and that those who serve as Decatur Youth representatives will inspire others to participate.' TRENDING STORIES: Supporters of fired Cobb County basketball coaches pack school board meeting Which restaurant chains are seeing the biggest price increases? Coca-Cola says tariffs could hit bottom line if canning, bottling costs rise According to UNICEF, the Child Friendly Cities Initiative incorporates a framework of safety, health, inclusivity and child-responsiveness when applying its designation to its members. The City of Decatur is now among the few thousand to receive such titling since 1996, when the initiative started. 'We are thrilled to have Decatur join our growing cohort of UNICEF Child Friendly Cities in the United States and recognize the City's commitment to building a safer and more accessible community for children,' UNICEF USA President & CEO Michael J. Nyenhuis said. 'UNICEF USA is proud to celebrate the dedication of the Decatur community to support youth involvement and include them in city decision making and initiatives that will have a lasting impact for generations to come.' To earn the designation, UNICEF said Decatur had to meet five priorities, including improving public spaces access for all, increasing trust with members of law enforcement, making the city cleaner, making Decatur more inclusive for all children and young people and becoming more sustainable, while improving access to mental health resources for children and teenagers. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
