(ANSA) – PARIS, OCT 4 – Today the Italian poet and writer Francesca Merloni has been named UNESCO goodwill Ambassador by the Organization’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, for “her engagement in favor of UNESCO’s creative cities network”. She is the Organization’s younger goodwill Ambassador and this year’s only Italian nominee. During a ceremony which was attended, among others, by Italy’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Vincenza Lomonaco, and by the Mayor of the city of Fabriano, Gabriele Santarelli, Francesca Merloni declared she was “very happy and proud of this award, which stands as a confirmation of my strong commitment towards my region, of the role of culture as a vehicle for an ethical and inclusive society and for solidarity, but also as a responsibility to promote UNESCO’s principles”. Francesca Merloni has been engaged for several years in numerous cultural projects in her native region of the Marches, namely the candidature of Fabriano to UNESCO’s network of creative cities and “Rinasco”, an initiative in favor of the social, cultural and economic recovery of those territories that were hit by an earthquakes of 2016. Among UNESCO’s goodwill Ambassadors one may cite Herbie Hancock, Jean Michel Jarre, Pierre Cardin, Carolina di Monaco, Claudia Cardinale, Monserrat Caballè, Placido Domingo, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Forrest Whitacker. Ms Merloni will contribute to foster awareness about UNESCO’s 116 creative cities and promote international cooperation among its members.
