Vinícius Jr. was named the new Goodwill Ambassador for Education for All by the head of UNESCO, the UN agency for culture and sport, on Friday. The Real Madrid players’ training facility hosted the occasion.
The 23-year-old winger received a letter of appointment from UNESCOOpens in New Window’s Director-General Audrey AzoulayOpens in the new window during her visit. She took this action to honour his exceptional on-field performance and his steadfast commitment to advancing equitable access to education in Brazil.
Vinius Junior: My goal is to be recognised as an exceptional athlete and a kind person who aspires to change the world.
According to Ms. Azoulay, the regular for the Brazilian national team was “a passionate advocate for equal access to education in Brazil in addition to being a great football player.”
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This is the second time in UNESCO’s history that a Brazilian football player has been chosen a Goodwill Ambassador, following the renowned Pelé.
“For an entire generation,” an exemplar
“As an inspiration to an entire generation, UNESCO is honoured to have him join our esteemed group of Goodwill Ambassadors,” the statement read.
Vinícius Junior expressed his gratitude to the individual for the award and mentioned that it was an incredibly hard effort that would take a lifetime to complete.
“I want to be recognised as a fantastic player who also aspires to be a good citizen and change the world.” “At the age of 19, I committed myself fully to education, and with the support of UNESCO, my Institute aims to improve the world,” he stated.
In 2021, he founded the Instituto Viní.Jr. to assist underprivileged Brazilian children and teenagers in returning to school.
The institution encourages children from all backgrounds to attend school by leveraging the values of sports.
Vinícius Junior will be crucial in delivering lectures at international conferences, engaging with Member States and the public, and supporting UNESCO’s global education initiatives in order to assist UNESCO in realising its mission of promoting education for all.
According to UNESCO, about 250 million children and teens do not have access to schooling. This number has gone up by 6 million since 2021.
Also, by age 10, seven out of ten kids can’t read and understand a simple text. This shows how important it is to fight social injustice, which is a major cause of kids dropping out of school and not being able to learn.