(Newswire.net — August 13, 2016) —The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled to Hollywood to ask movie and TV stars to join the ambitious campaign to end poverty, tackle the problem of climate change and to promote a fairer more humane world, reports the AP.
Ban was a guest at a lunch prepared by television producer and director Norman Lear, and then at a celebrity dinner for about 200 VIPs hosted by producer and director Brett Ratner.
The dinner was attended by many, including Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Courtney Love, Sharon Stone and several studio chiefs.
At both events, Ban Ki-Moon spoke about the conflicts and crises in the world, the growth of terrorism, discrimination against women, gays and minorities, violations of human rights and poor governance.
The UN chief also explained the 17 UN goals adopted by world leaders last September to tackle the issues.
Ban said that he, as the Secretary-General, can reach to about 2,000 people to try to galvanize global action to achieve the goals but movie, TV stars, and movie-makers could reach millions with the most important messages.
He explained to guests at the dinner that they are the people who can motivate, who can inspire, who can make people laugh, who can make people cry. That’s why he traveled to Hollywood to ask for their help.
Ban Ki-Moon said that he knows that movie stars and other a celebrities earn a lot of money with just one movie, but he now begged them to work for humanity, for a better world, because the world is in trouble and a lot of people are dying.
After Ban’s speech, a lot of celebrities agreed with him. Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder said that he is very honored to be a part of the celebration of unity.
TV personality Larry King, who was the master of ceremonies at the dinner party, praised the secretary-general, whose second five-year term ends on Dec. 31. King called him “a man who may well be the next president of South Korea.”
British writer and filmmaker David Raymond announced a TV miniseries “In Harm’s Way”, which will present a story each year about what the UN does around the world.
Producer-director Brett Ratner also announced that Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary on the environment will be released this fall. The famous actor is a U.N. Messenger of Peace, focusing on climate.