Ricky Martin

Ricky Martin

"An international superstar, Ricky Martin has sold more than 30 million albums in Spanish and English, and has performed for millions of people around the globe. Martin is also a philanthropist and an advocate for the underprivileged. He has donated more than $1 million to fund musical education in Puerto Rico. Through his own charitable foundation, People for Children, he has contributed to a rehabilitation center for disabled children in Puerto Rico and helped in the fight against child abuse and exploitation. Martin is also involved in the Rainforest Foundation, The Carousel of Hope, and the American Heart Association."

"After his 2002 humanitarian visit to India, where Martin rescued three girls from falling prey to human trafficking, the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador went to Washington DC to join activists in the international fight against the most vicious violation of human rights.

"Convinced that music, like philanthropy, bridges hope, in 2004 he launched People for Children - the Foundation's flagship project, to provide education and support for international efforts seeking the elimination of human trafficking -- with special emphasis on children. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked every year for exploitation purposes such as forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation and prostitution, among other forms of slavery. That same year, Martin addressed government officials and representatives at the United Nations in New York, to publicly condemn international child-sex tourism.

"In 2005, Martin received the International Humanitarian Award, alongside Queen Noor of Jordan and First Lady Martha Fox of Mexico. The distinction was made by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The State Department also included Martin as an International Hero in its Annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2005. That summer he became the first Latin American to participate as an Honorary Speaker at the 24th Arab Children Congress, an international event organized by Queen Noor in Jordan.

"Martin addressed the U.S. Congress' House International Relations Committee in 2006 and encouraged all of the world's countries to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and enforce a strong birth-registration policy, among other standards. Following this hearing, the foundation joined the Action Group to End Human Trafficking, headquartered in Washington, D.C., which lobbies for adequate public policymaking aimed at deterring this global nightmare. That same year, the Latin Grammy Recording Academy honored Martin with their highest accolade “Person of the Year” for his commitment to combat child exploitation and extraordinary musical career.

"To fight this horrible crime, the Foundation also joined forces with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2006 to launch Call and Live -- the first regional campaign to combat human trafficking in the Americas...

"Unfortunately, violence committed toward children is also rampant over the Internet. In order to help prevent cyber crimes, the Foundation and Microsoft responded by launching in Navega Protegido -- an online child-safety campaign with videos and educational materials that provide teachers, students and parents tools to protect children from hazards on the Internet such as pornography, predators and identity theft."

• Founding Board Member, Alliance for the New Humanity
• President, Ricky Martin Foundation
• 2005: First Latin American to sign a partnership with Habitat for Humanity