UN digital ambassador ELYX joins Desertification and Drought Day

This journey for ELYX, the UN’s Digital Ambassador, begins on World Bee Day, 20 May 2021, with more stops ahead – the International Biodiversity Day on 22 May and World Environment Day on 5 June, and finally a celebration of Desertification and Drought Day on 17 June.

ELYX is working with UNCCD to get the world’s private sector organizations excited and involved in both the 2021 Desertification and Drought Day and the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which runs from 2021 to 2030.

UNCCD and ELYX are inviting private sector organizations around the world to commit to supporting one or more of the 12 targets of Sustainable Development Goal 15, Life on Land.

ELYX was born in 2011 as an artistic project of renowned French artist Yacine Ait Kaci (YAK), became an Instagram influencer and in 2014 was appointed the first United Nations Digital Ambassador.

UNCCD and ELYX will reach out to the private sector to bring their attention to the High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought hosted by Mr. Volkan Bozkir, the seventy-fifth President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) to bring together Heads of State and Government to map the actions for the next ten years of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, after assessing the progress made to reduce the loss of productive land during the the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification that ended in 2020.

ELYX's journey begins on the World Bee Day because bees are essential to keep our land healthy. Their disappearance  is a powerful signal that land is degrading. Protecting habitats of key pollinators such as bees is necessary to keep land productive and the entire ecosystem healthy – a cornerstone of sustainable post-pandemic recovery.

Next, ELYX will join the international community to celebrate and launch of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 5 June. Together with UNCCD, he is inviting private companies to become part of the global movement of citizens backing governments to put life back into the one billion hectares of land that are no longer producing.

On 17 June UNCCD will profile companies that respond to this invitation by announcing their commitments to leave Earth with better prospects for healthier and more productive future on land.

For more information about the event contact Ms. Wagaki Wischnewski wwischnewski [at] unccd.int (wwischnewski[at]unccd[dot]int)

For information about how to get involved contact Mr. Marcos Montoiro mmontoiro [at] unccd.int (mmontoiro[at]unccd[dot]int)