{"id":55408,"date":"2025-08-29T09:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T09:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/un-appoints-masai-ujiri-to-champion-sustainable-development-goals\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T09:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T09:34:13","slug":"un-appoints-masai-ujiri-to-champion-sustainable-development-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/un-appoints-masai-ujiri-to-champion-sustainable-development-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Un appoints Masai Ujiri to champion sustainable development goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ujiri, a prominent voice in sport and youth empowerment, joins Muniba Mazari, a Pakistani advocate for inclusion and disability rights, in the latest cohort of influential leaders tasked with accelerating global progress on the 17 SDGs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SDG Advocates play a vital role in inspiring global action and ambition to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,\u201d Guterres said. \u201cI am pleased to welcome Mr. Masai Ujiri and Ms. Muniba Mazari to this distinguished group of leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n

Through his non-profit organisation Giants of Africa, Ujiri has long used basketball as a platform to inspire young people, break down barriers, and provide opportunities across the continent. <\/p>\n

Most recently, the Giants of Africa festival was staged in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 26 to August 2 2025, bringing together 320 young athletes from 20 African nations. The festival was also a major public spectacle, drawing an estimated 20,000 spectators.<\/p>\n

At the 2025 edition of Giants of Africa in Kigali, Masai Ujiri also unveiled Zaria Court, a state-of-the-art sports complex designed to promote youth development, gender equality, and community engagement. <\/p>\n

Beyond providing a space for basketball and recreation, the facility is envisioned as a hub for education, leadership training, and social impact initiatives, directly contributing to several Sustainable Development Goals, including quality education, good health and well-being, and reduced inequalities.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his appointment, Ujiri said: \u201cSport doesn\u2019t just unite people \u2013 it breaks down barriers, builds hope, and transforms entire communities. Joining the SDG Advocates is a tremendous honour, and I\u2019m excited to be part of a global movement that empowers youth and drives meaningful change around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mazari, widely known as the \u201cIron Lady of Pakistan,\u201d has inspired millions through her personal journey and her tireless advocacy for disability rights, inclusion, and gender equality. <\/p>\n

\u201cInclusion is not a privilege; it is a right. I am proud to be an SDG Advocate and to elevate the voices of those who are often unheard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General praised the pair\u2019s dedication and highlighted the importance of their work in advancing the SDGs, particularly in areas of youth empowerment, inclusion, and social transformation.<\/p>\n

The SDG Advocates, chaired by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, bring together a diverse group of global leaders, from royalty and heads of foundations to business executives, entertainers, and activists. <\/p>\n

Current members include Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar, Gra\u00e7a Machel, Jeffrey Sachs, Lilly Singh, and Microsoft President Brad Smith, among others.<\/p>\n

\"United<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has appointed Masai Ujiri, Co-Founder of Giants of Africa and former Vice-Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors, as one of two new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Advocates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000093349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000093349,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/01-whatsapp_image_2025-07-27_at_17.57_29_ee212813-0b311logo.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/01-whatsapp_image_2025-07-27_at_17.57_29_ee212813-0b311logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/01-whatsapp_image_2025-07-27_at_17.57_29_ee212813-0b311logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/01-whatsapp_image_2025-07-27_at_17.57_29_ee212813-0b311logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/01-whatsapp_image_2025-07-27_at_17.57_29_ee212813-0b311logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/01-whatsapp_image_2025-07-27_at_17.57_29_ee212813-0b311logo.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000093349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55408"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55408"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}