The Ukrainian WBC heavyweight champion Vitaliy Klitschko and his brother, the present IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will be nominated UNESCO Champions for Sport by Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the Organization, on 4 December.
The designation of the Klitschko brothers is a tribute
to their exceptional success in the sport of boxing, their long-term commitment
on behalf of the marginalized, their exemplary efforts to promote and support
UNESCO’s Programme for the Education of Children in Need, and their valuable
contribution to furthering the Organization’s ideals and objectives.
In August 2006, the Klitschko brothers traveled to Namibia with UNESCO experts
to promote educational activities for children of the San community, who are
among the most isolated and underprivileged in the north and west of the
country. In 2004 and 2005, they lent active support to a UNESCO project in
Romania. Beginning in 2002, they helped a project in Brazil. They have in
addition created several foundations in Ukraine that benefit children and
sport.
Wladimir Klitschko won the title from Chris Byrd last April, and successfully
defended it against Calvin Brock on 11 November. On that occasion, he announced
his intention to donate part of his winnings to UNESCO’s Program for the
Education of Children in Need to fund projects in Namibia and in other parts of
Africa. Wladimir Klitschko will present a cheque for US$ 285,000 to the
Director-General during the 4 December ceremony.
The roster of UNESCO Champions for Sport includes Ukrainian pole-vaulter Serhiy
Bubka.
