The Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of New York invite you to celebrate
The 2016 United Nations Day
Humanitarian Awards Gala Dinner
Celebrating the 71st Anniversary of the United Nations
Improving Global Road Safety UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020
Tuesday, October 26, 2018
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J. W. Marriott Essex House
160 Central Park South,
New York City
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Cocktail Hour | 6:30 p.m.
Dinner Program | 7:30 p.m.
Black Tie or National Dress
2 0 1 6 H O N O R E E S
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Jean Todt
President and CEO
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)
and
UN Special Envoy for Road Safety
and
Michelle Yeoh
Actor, Producer and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador
Honoring their tireless advocacy and commitment towards
road safety by establishing good road safety practices and raising
awareness about the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety as
part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda
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M A S T E R O F C E R E M O N I E S
Jo Ling Kent
Correspondent, NBC News
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E V E N I N G P E R F O R M A N C E
Cirque du Soleil
This evening will feature a special performance by Cirque du Soleil, offering excerpts from two of their most popular shows: KURIOS and PARAMOUR.
Road traffic deaths and injuries are a major public health and development issue. More than 1.2 million people are killed, and up to 50 million are injured, every year. The vast majority of casualties occur in middle and low income countries. Road traffic injuries are a major global killer of children in their second decade of life.
FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) is a leading global road safety philanthropy, which enables innovative injury prevention programs and pilot projects. Its ground-breaking advocacy helped secure the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and is promoting road safety as important part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda.
2016 HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREE
JEAN TODT
President and CEO
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)
and UN Special Envoy for Road Safety
Jean Todt is President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). He is also the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Road Safety.
Jean Todt studied economics, business and marketing at the Ecole des Cadres in Paris. In 1966, he began his career and participated in World Rally Championships until 1981. That same year, alongside Guy Fréquelin, he won the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers with a Talbot Lotus. Between 1966 and 1981, Jean Todt co-drove 18 drivers, amongst the most successful of their time. and 12 major manufacturers, winning many international rallies in the process.
He was then appointed Peugeot's Director of Racing and founded Peugeot Talbot Sport (PTS), which claimed the Drivers' and Manufacturers' World Rally Championship titles in 1985 and 1986 before going on to take first place in the general classification at the four editions of the Paris-Dakar Rally between 1987 and 1990.
In 1990, Jean Todt became Director of Sporting Activities of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group, overseeing Peugeot's participation in the World Sports Car Championships, which Peugeot won in 1992. It also claimed two consecutive victories at the 1992 and 1993 Le Mans 24 Hours.
In July of 1993, Jean Todt left Peugeot and became Manager of Ferrari's Racing Division. Under his leadership, from 1993 to 2008, Scuderia Ferrari won 14 Formula One World titles (8 Constructors' and 6 Drivers' titles, of which 5 for Michael Schumacher) and 106 Grand Prix victories.
In 2001, he took on responsibility for all motor sport activities of the Ferrari- Maserati Group and then became Director of Ferrari S.p.A. He was appointed General Manager of Ferrari in 2004 and went on to become Chief Executive Officer in 2006. From 2008, he occupied the role of Special Adviser to the President of Ferrari, while remaining a member of the board. He left Ferrari in March 2009.
Jean Todt was elected President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in October 2009, and was re-elected in December of 2013. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety in April of 2015.
Jean Todt also devotes his time to several charitable causes. He is one of the Founders and Vice-President of the Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (ICM), an institute devoted to medical research for brain and spinal cord disorders, which was set up in 2005. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society since 2009, President of the Board of Directors of the Suu Foundation since December 2014 and member of the Board of Directors for the International Peace Institute (IPI) since June 2015.
He also sits on the boards of Gaumont, Groupe Lucien Barrière, Edmond de Rothschild SA, the Friends of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and the International Advisory Board of Sotheby's.
Since 2003, Jean Todt has been an Honorary President of the Federazione Auto Motoristica Sammarinese (FAMS). He is also an Honorary Member of the Automobile Club de France, and a Member of the Polo de Paris.
Jean Todt has been roving Ambassador for the Republic of San Marino since 2003, and is Honorary President of the Federazione Auto Motoristica Sammarinese (FAMS). He is also an Honorary Member of the Automobile Club de France, a member of the Polo de Paris, as well as a member of the Académie des Sports and of the Académie des Technologies.
Jean Todt has been awarded many titles and distinctions, including: the Grand'Croix de la Légion d'Honneur de la République française (2011); the Grand Officier of the Republic of San Marino Order of Sainte Agathe (2012); Commander of the Italian Republic (2002); Commander of the National Order of Merit of Senegal (2013); Officer of the National Order of Merit of France (1991); Medal of the First Class Order of the Kingdom of Bahrain, awarded by the King (2014); Medal of the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation (2015); Member of the Ukrainian Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (2011); Golden Medal of the French Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports (1987); and Dato Seri of Malaysia (2006).
2016 HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREE
MICHELLE YEOH
Actor, Producer and
UNDP Goodwilll Ambassador
Michelle Yeoh is an internationally acclaimed actor and producer, and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador.
She is also a Global Road Safety Ambassador for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and a member of the Commission for Global Road Safety, which advocates for road injury to be recognized as a global public health and development priority. Since 2008 she has been a leading activist for the Make Roads Safe campaign, including leading its successful 'Call for a Decade of Action' at various events around the world, as well as participating in the BBC documentary 'Turning Point' (2009). In March 2010, she represented Malaysia at the UN General Assembly, where 100 governments approved the proposal for the Decade of Action. She was also invited to speak at the World Bank, Asia Development Bank and Ministerial Conference.
In cinema, Michelle has starred in more than thirty films including global hits Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Sunshine. Through her films, she has challenged the traditional views of Asian women by creating very strong female roles. In Luc Besson's The Lady (which was a hit in UNA-NY's Screening the Issues series), she portrayed Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, receiving critical acclaim in major international film festivals for her inspiring and sophisticated performance.
In 1983, Michelle graduated in England obtaining a BA in Creative Arts. The same year, she was crowned Miss Malaysia and soon became Hong Kong's kung-fu queen, known for performing her own stunts with her first action film "Yes Madam." These talents were superbly displayed in her acclaimed performance in Ang Lee's period epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and earned her three nominations for Best Actress at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards and the BAFTA Awards in 2001. The film itself won over 40 major awards around the world, including four Academy Awards Oscars.
Michelle has received many international awards for her outstanding work as actor and producer, including: CineAsia's "Award of Excellence in Acting for Outstanding Performance as an Actor" (1999); "International Star of the Year" at the 2001 ShoWest exhibitor's convention; CineAsia's "Producer of the Year" for The Touch (2002); the "Montblanc Arts Patronage Award" to recognize her achievements and commitment to nurture creative talents; "Influential Chinese Award 2008" in Beijing; the "Excellence in Asian Cinema" award at the 7th Asian Film Awards (2013).
In October 2007, Michelle was conferred the honour of "Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur" by the President of the Republic of France, in recognition of her contribution to arts and cultural exchange between Asia and France. Her further promotion to "Officier de la Legion d'Honneur" followed four years later.
In 2008, Michelle teamed up with her long time friend and mentor, Terence Chang, to establish Stellar Entertainment, an Asian talent management company to nurture creative filmmakers and new talents.
She also served on the juries at the Berlin and Cannes film festivals, in 1999 and 2002 respectively, and received an official tribute from the President of the Cannes Film Festival for her continuous support of French cinema (2009).
In 2012, Michelle was also promoted to "Dato Seri" by the Sultan of Perak, one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. Dato Seri is the highest state title conferred by the Ruler on the most deserving recipients who have contributed greatly to the nation or state. This was later followed by a conferral to "Tan Sri" by the Malaysian state government (the second most senior federal title and honor in Malaysia).
Michelle actively promoted her documentary PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey (which also featured in a 2012 UNA-NY Screening the Issues). It is the harrowing adventure of 700 people, trekking across the Himalayas to raise awareness of the region's ecological devastations associated with global warming.
Michelle has devoted a major part of her time to charitable and social endeavors. She is ambassador of amfAR (the foundation for AIDS research), AIDS Concerns, Hong Kong Cancer Fund, Live to Love and The Brain & Spine Institute (ICM). She work on the National Geographic documentary "Amongst the Great Apes" helped raise awareness about Malaysian wildlife conservation.
In 2013, she joined UNAIDS to help manifest its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths worldwide. She participated in the first meeting of the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission: Defeating AIDS – Advancing Global Health in Lilongwe.
In March 2016, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) appointed Michelle as its newest Goodwill Ambassador. Michelle will focus on raising awareness and mobilizing support for the recently launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In addition to her film and charity activities, Michelle is international brand ambassadress for Guerlain (skincare and cosmetics) and Richard Mille (luxury watches), with whom she took an artistic and expressive approach in the design of her own limited-edition watch, launched in 2011.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
JO LING KENT
Correspondent
NBC News
Jo Ling Kent is a correspondent at NBC News covering technology, business and general news. Prior to NBC, she was a correspondent with Fox Business Network, during which she interviewed General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma and other top business leaders. From 2012 to 2013, Jo was an investigative and general assignment reporter for NBC Connecticut in Hartford, where she was a member of the team awarded a Peabody for coverage of the Newtown school shooting. She reported on the 2012 presidential race as a campaign embed reporter with NBC News.
Jo worked in China for five years, first as a Fulbright Scholar focused on women's rights. She also covered greater China as a journalist with CNN and ABC News in Beijing. Jo holds two master's degrees in international affairs from the London School of Economics and Peking University, along with a BA from Rice University. She's from Minnesota, lives in New York and is fluent in Mandarin.
Read about and see photos from
The 2015 Humanitarian Awards Dinner
2016 DINNER INVITATIONS
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