Robbie visits children affected by HIV/AIDS in Umbumbulu, South Africa.
© Simon Niblett/Idols
Robbie visits a UNICEF-supported shelter for disadvantaged children in Moscow, 2003.
© Sean Gleason/Idols, courtesy of the In Good Company Co Ltd
Brief biography
Robbie was introduced to UNICEF UK by the late Ian Dury, himself a UNICEF Special Representative in 1998. Together they travelled to Sri Lanka to see UNICEF’s work, including a mass child immunisation campaign.
In 2001, Robbie became a UNICEF UK Ambassador and travelled to Mozambique to see UNICEF’s work for children affected by HIV and AIDS, as well as our emergency response following the devastating floods.
In 2008, Robbie’s Soccer Aid happened again! UNICEF UK was delighted to be the beneficiary of another Soccer Aid, raising over £1.14 million pounds for our health, education and protection work with vulnerable children worldwide. You can watch a video of Robbie talking about the work being done by UNICEF and its partner Isibindi in South Africa for vulnerable children and reflects on Soccer Aid 2006.
In the run up to the 2006 World Cup, Robbie led an English team of celebrities and footballing legends to a 2-1 victory over the ‘Rest of the World’ team captained by Gordon Ramsey. Robbie was the mastermind behind Soccer Aid, which raised over £2.5 million for work carried out by UNICEF and its partners around the world.
In April 2006, he took time out of his South African tour to see for himself how HIV and AIDS is having an impact on the lives of children, meeting children who had lost their parents because of AIDS. Watch a film of Robbie in South Africa.
Soccer Aid photo galleries:
Robbie Williams and fellow Ambassador David Beckham joined forces in December 2005 to film a message to promote UNICEF’s Unite for children, Unite against AIDS campaign. The short film was aired internationally on CNN and MTV. Watch Robbie and David's film.
In 2003, he visited a UNICEF-supported shelter for street children in Moscow as part of UNICEF’s ‘End Child Exploitation’ campaign. Robbie also narrated the short film More Precious than Gold which helped to bring attention to the issue of child trafficking.
Robbie Williams says:
“I have been an Ambassador for UNICEF since 2001 and some of the best moments of my life have been spent with children in Mozambique and Sri Lanka. During my last UNICEF trip, I met so many kids who gave me reason to smile. Now, through UNICEF, its partners and Soccer Aid, I want to be able to give them something to smile about too.”
