Turkish actress becomes goodwill ambassador for UNICEF

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

Turkish actress Tuba Büyüküstün, a celebrity in Turkey and many Gulf nations, has been appointed as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Children’s Rights and Emergency Relief Organization (UNICEF).

Büyüküstün, who has starred in a number of popular Turkish TV series, said it was an honor to be assigned for this mission and pledged to do her best to actively cooperate with the organization.

Ayman Abulaban, UNICEF’s Turkey representative, explained that part of Büyüküstün’s mission would be to support Syrian child refugees who have fled to Turkey.

She will also participate in UNICEF’s relief plans for the relatives and children of the 301 miners killed in last week’s disaster in the western town of Soma.

“People can find themselves in disastrous situations or in a warzone at any time, as in the Soma incident, the floods in the Balkans and the Syrian civil war. But under these situations, the children are the ones most affected,” said the actress at a ceremony on May 21.

United Nations nominates leading and well-known figures from various areas as “goodwill ambassadors” in a bid to raise awareness over humanitarian issues and its activities.

Turkish model-turned-actor Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, who is also famous among Arab audiences and who co-starred in one of the most popular series with Büyüküstün, has been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2011.