K-pop megastars Seventeen said Wednesday they were honored to be named UNESCO goodwill ambassadors on Wednesday. “We are humbled and overwhelmed to stand before you for the first time as UNESCO’s goodwill ambassadors for youth,” said Seventeen member Joshua Hong at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. “It is a great honor to be representing today’s young people which is a priority group for UNESCO,” he said, adding that the boy band would donate £1 million to a UNESCO youth grant scheme for creative projects.

UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay said the partnership with Seventeen “will add a tremendous momentum to our efforts”. “They will be a fantastic bridge between us, UNESCO, our values, what we stand for, our aim for peace, and young people,” she added. The 13-strong South Korean band founded in 2015, were second only to Taylor Swift for global revenue last year, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). They also topped the IFPI album charts in 2023 with “FML” and have racked up billions of streams online.

The group has already been working with the organization less formally and performed at the UNESCO Paris office in November. Other current ambassadors include Brazilian footballer Vinicius, actors Rossi de Palma and Forest Whitaker, and Italian-Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco. — AFP