(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-21 22:44

BEIJING - The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced on Monday that Chinese actress Zhou Xun was appointed as its first National Goodwill Ambassador with a special focus on promoting environmental sustainability.

Chinese actress Zhou Xun [File Photo]

"Zhou Xun has set a good example in her own life to protect the environment that also impacts people around her. It only seems fitting that she has chosen to help the United Nations promote environmental awareness, in particular, on the challenge of climate change," said Khalid Malik, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in China.

He said UNDP would work with Zhou Xun to motivate individuals to take part in the fight against climate change by adopting simple lifestyle habits such as using reusable chopsticks in restaurants or switching to more efficient, energy saving light bulbs.

Having signed the Letter of Designation, which must be for the smallest amount of money she has ever signed for -- one dollar a year, the multi-talented award winner Zhou Xun described her appointment as an honor and responsibility.

"It's not about the message, but the delivery.The issue is how to get people to voluntarily practice the green tips they have already known and be proud to practice them. Our goal is to find aclever way to make green tips hip, fashionable and fun," said Zhou Xun.

"Everyone must do his part to tackle the challenge of climate change head-on, rather see the reduction of carbon emissions as something to be tackled by government and big industries. Everyonecan make a difference," she added, citing she managed to persuade her colleagues to use reusable chopsticks when shooting film in Yunnan Province.

As an internationally acclaimed Chinese actress, Zhou Xun caught international attention through her roles in Lou Ye's Suzhou River in 2000 and Dai Sijie's film adoption of the book of same name Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress in 2002. Her role in Peter Chan's Perhaps Love in 2005 gained her the Best Actress award in the Hong Kong Film Awards.

UNDP has long enlisted the voluntary services and support of prominent individuals as Goodwill Ambassadors to highlight pressing development issues and help amplify the urgent and universal message of human development. Globally, UNDP has six global Goodwill Ambassadors including soccer legends Ronaldo and Zidane.