Gina Lollobrigida
"I suffered a lot during my childhood and I have not forgotten my origins. Now this formal title gives me an opportunity to play a first-hand role in the fight against world hunger".
Luigina (Gina) Lollobrigida, born in Subiaco, in Italy, is one of the European film industry’s most distinctive personalities, as well as a respected photographer and sculptor whose work has been exhibited in some of the world’s most important museums.
She has devoted generous amounts of her time to humanitarian activities, acting as a special representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and supporting many major humanitarian agencies.
Since her appointment as an FAO Goodwill Ambassador in 1999, Ms Lollobrigida has participated in several FAO fundraising and awareness-raising events aimed at fighting hunger. In 1999 she participated in a celebrity auction organized by Arab Radio and Television in Cairo. In 2000 she was a guest on the Italian television programme La Cometa della Fortuna, dedicated to FAO and she has taken part in several charity events in Florence, Rome, Latina etc.
Ms. Lollobrigida regularly attends FAO institutional meetings, such as the World Food Day celebrations at FAO HQs.
On the occasion of World Food Day 2006, Gina has donated a statue of her creation to FAO. She is presently active in organizing an awareness-raising event to be dedicated to FAO through the Italian television in 2008, with both an awareness-raising and a fundraising component.
In 2007, she acted as the madrina (patron) of the “Run for Food Race”, organized under the patronage of the Mayor of Rome in favour of FAO.
In March 2008, Gina Lollobrigida acted as the madrina of the inaugural ceremony and European launch of the World Harmony Run held at FAO HQs.
She has attended the inaugural ceremony of the High Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy, on 3 June 2008, FAO HQs.
In the new art photographs book of Gina Lollobrigida, which was presented to the media on 25 June 2009 during the inaugural ceremony of her photo exhibit in Rome (Palazzo delle Esposizioni), an entire section has been dedicated to FAO and Gina’s role as an FAO Goodwill Ambassador.
