UNIS/NAR/912
25 July 2005
Photographer Alessandro Scotti Appointed as UNODC Goodwill Ambassador
VIENNA, 25 July (UN Information Service) -- Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has appointed the Italian photographer, Alessandro Scotti, as UNODC Goodwill Ambassador.
"I am honoured to have the Italian photographer, Alessandro Scotti, as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNODC," stated Mr. Costa at the official signing ceremony held in Vienna. "His talent has transformed the tragic plight of a few into a global campaign against narco-trafficking. He shows us the face of addiction, exploitation, and physical suffering, and challenges us to respond. And once you really look at these photographs, there is no other choice. His work contains a powerful message of compassion."
Mr. Scotti has worked as a professional photographer and writer for 10 years, and his work has taken him to 15 countries. Since 2001, the photographer has chosen to highlight the dilemmas of populations and regions plagued by drug trafficking. In 2004, his photographic survey on drugs was awarded the prestigious Ponchielli Prize for "The Best Photographic Work of the Year."
Mr. Scotti is the recipient of the French 3PPP grant, an honour awarded to only 10 photographers in 2005. Mr. Scotti is a member of the Italian Ordine dei Giornalisti, and the International Federation of Journalists. He is also a photographer for the Italian edition of Rolling Stone magazine.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Mr. Scotti thanked the Executive Director, UNODC, saying, "I am extremely grateful to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the support for my visual research over the years. The United Nations has always represented a common platform for discussion among faraway cultures and realities, as well as a guarantee for the rights of all human beings. Having the chance to formally join the UN ‘family’ and contribute to its goals is an honour and a great privilege."
The ceremony marked the first appointment of a UNODC Goodwill Ambassador during the tenure of the current Executive Director.
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