The Zeitz Foundation Ambassadors represent individuals who have become internationally recognised for their contributions in their fields and who inspire change. Our Ambassadors help by raising awareness and, in tandem with our Specialists, contributing across each of the 4Cs dimensions that are integral to achieving "ecosphere safety"—the dynamic and sustainable balance of conservation, community, culture and commerce.
AMBASSADORS & SPECIALISTS
Culture Ambassador (Sport)
Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, showed the world at the 2008 Olympics that determination and persistence can achieve the seemingly impossible. As both a dynamic athlete and personality, Bolt is an emblem of true sportsmanship, embodying the positive spirit of sport.
The World Champion Athlete, Olympic Gold Medalist and Zeitz Foundation Ambassador for Sport recently stated, “Sport is not only a personal passion, but a symbol of the spirit and the ability to achieve any goal we set our minds to. As an athlete and as an Olympian, I have experienced the true convening power of sport—to come together, in friendly competition, promoting the values of fair play and respect. Zeitz Foundation for Intercultural Ecosphere Safety promotes these universal values, supporting sport activities that contribute to building a sustainable future while creating a culture of peace.”
Culture Ambassador (Art)
Amadou and Mariam
Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia, the musical duo from Mali, join the Zeitz Foundation as Ambassadors for Culture. Amadou & Mariam played their first concert in 1980 and embarked on a career that would take them around the globe, win numerous awards and produce one of the best-selling albums ever to come out of Africa.
Their unique mix of sweet melodies and funky rhythms, driven by Amadou’s bluesy guitar and the duo’s compelling voices make up the vibrant magic of their music. They have their roots deeply planted in Africa and yet they give us music for the world rather than world music.
“Our musical creativity allows us to cross borders, expand horizons and build connections. There is a new opportunity to do so within the Zeitz Foundation, and we are thrilled to embark on The Long Run as a sensible, honest and positive approach to life.”
Culture Specialist (Sport)
Colin Jackson
Colin Jackson is a Welsh former 110m World Champion hurdling athlete and Olympic Medalist. He retired from athletics in 2003 and became one of the key members of the BBC's sports production team and he continues to take part in the BBC's athletics coverage. Outside sport, Colin kick-started his broadcasting career by co-hosting the reality TV project Born to Win, where he led the nation's largest search for Britain's new sporting talent. Colin works extensively with the sport website Raise your Game, which, with the help of celebrity interviews and invaluable advice, encourages children to be ambitious in sport and life in general.
Colin Jackson brings to the Zeitz Foundation his positive message as a Culture Specialist for Sport. “I believe in the capacity of sport to inspire and galvanise, and we should never underestimate that power. The message that the Zeitz Foundation sends—by utilising sport as a way to communicate universal goals and bring people together in ways that contribute towards conservation and social awareness—is one that could not be more relevant at this moment in time.”
Culture Specialist (Art)
Mark Coetzee
Mark Coetzee is Program Director of PUMAVision and Chief Curator of puma.creative. He is originally from Cape Town, South Africa. Before joining PUMA, he was the director of both the Contemporary Arts Foundation and the Rubell Family Collection (RFC) from 2000 to 2009. He was adjunct curator at the Palm Springs Art Museum from 2008 to 2009. Committed to education, he served as an adjunct faculty member at the New World School of the Arts, was co-director of the New World School of the Arts honours Program, and from 2001 to 2009 the director of the Curatorial Training Program.
He is a recognised artist in his own right as well an art historian and writer. Coetzee has published extensively on art, writing for journals including the Mail & Guardian, Revue Noire and the Sunday Independent, and publishing over 30 monograph catalogues on various artists. His latest publications include monographs on Hernan Bas, Keith Haring, Eberhard Havekost, and John Stezaker.
He has received various grants and awards for his work from foundations such as the Arts & Business Council of Miami of Americans for the Arts, Business & Arts South Africa (BASA), Harry Crossley Foundation, Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, Maggie Laubscher Foundation, Miami Design Preservation League, Ruth Prowse Foundation, Irma Stern Foundation, Montague White Trust, National Arts Council of South Africa and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Coetzee studied at the University of Stellenbosch, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Paris-Sorbonne.
Commerce Ambassador
François-Henri Pinault
Francois-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of the global corporate conglomerate PPR, is the Zeitz Foundation’s Ambassador for Commerce. Says Pinault, “I believe that every company—whether small or large, for-profit or not-for-profit—regardless of its field, must look into socially responsible and sustainable ways of doing business. In order to tackle challenges, businesses must take the whole picture into account. It is precisely this approach that the Zeitz Foundation has adopted for its paradigm of sustainable commerce and conservation as they work towards realising their vision for a safer, more sustainable planet. As a businessman who is also a passionate supporter of culture and art, I am personally inspired by their mission and vision.”
Commerce Specialist
Derek de la Harpe
Derek de la Harpe is a Zimbabwean Chartered Accountant and has spent the last 30 years working in finance, wildlife conservation and tourism development in sub-Saharan Africa as well as in Latin America and South-East Asia. At present, he is working as a freelance consultant in these disciplines. Derek specialises in the financing and management of protected areas, both privately- and state-owned, and the role that tourism plays in ensuring sustainability of these areas. Hence the link with the “Commerce” dimension of the 4Cs.
“Securing access to adequate funds for protection, management and development of protected areas is the greatest challenge to wildlife conservation the world over,” says Derek. “The best hope for securing these funds and ensuring sustainability of conservation is through sustainable use of the resources to be conserved. Educating stakeholders on these needs is a major challenge.”
Community Ambassador
Gregory David Roberts
Australian-born Gregory David Roberts is an activist and the author of the book Shantaram. Says Roberts, the Zeitz Foundation Ambassador for Community, “I have watched the Zeitz Foundation develop from what I consider to be a noble idea to something that has become a practical and sustainable reality. At every stage I have been inspired by the personal vision of Jochen Zeitz, and excited by the contribution that this initiative makes to the better world that most of us want, and all of us desperately need. The new paradigm at the heart of The Long Run concept is an integrated part of the big paradigm shift towards a creative, courageous compassion for all living things in the biosphere—including our beautiful, damaged selves—and I support it passionately, with heart and mind.”
Community Specialist
Auret van Heerden
President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association, Auret van Heerden’s experience in international human and labor rights spans more than 30 years. He began campaigning for workers rights as a young student in apartheid South Africa and co-authored a book in 1976 that called for trade union rights for black workers. He served two terms as president of the National Union of South African Students. After graduating in industrial sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, he founded an institute that provided research and training services to trade unions and civil society groups. He was forced into exile in May 1987 after long periods of solitary confinement and torture.
In 1988, Auret joined the International Labor Organisation (ILO) and worked on its Program of Action against Apartheid in Geneva until 1994 when the new democratic South African government appointed him Labor Attach in the South African Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva. He returned to the ILO in 1996 to run the Special Action Programme on Export Processing Zones where he worked on labor relations issues in 25 zone-operating countries and established a Swiss-funded project to improve labor relations in Special Economic Zones in China. He joined the FLA in 2001.
Conservation Ambassador
Stephen Hopkins
Award-winning director, writer and producer, Stephen Hopkins, is the Zeitz Foundation’s Ambassador for Conservation. Born in Jamaica and raised in England and Australia, Hopkins shares with the Foundation a deep passion for the wildlife and the environment.
“I believe that there are innovative ways in which we can all do more. Whether in support of environmental awareness, conservation projects, or the preservation of culture through film and other forms of art, as a part of an overall plan to combine different perspectives, industries, and ways of thinking, the key—I believe—is to find what is most important to us and translate that into action. I think the Zeitz Foundation is absolutely on the right track and I am inspired by their 4key principles of being fair, honest, positive and creative in everything they do. It's innovative, and very exciting.”
Conservation Specialist
Dr. Holly Dublin
Dr. Holly Dublin has spent the past three decades as an active conservation practitioner—linking the inherent values of biodiversity to human livelihoods and well-being. For many years Holly served as a Senior Conservation Adviser to WWF and then IUCN. She is presently a Senior Conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, an Adviser to IUCN on Sustainable Use and Human-Wildlife Interactions and the Chair of the African Elephant Specialist Group.
With a focus on improving conservation performance, Holly has been involved for many years with strategic planning, programme development and implementation, and monitoring and evaluation in the fields of conservation and sustainable development. As a trained facilitator, Holly has successfully mediated negotiations on some of the most controversial topics in modern conservation.
“The challenges for a sustainable future have never been greater and we are at growing risk of losing much of the natural and culture diversity we most value around the world. Innovative approaches, novel partnerships and inspirational ways of communicating hold new opportunities for reversing this escalating trend. As a new player on the block, the Zeitz Foundation can bring fresh energy, enthusiasm and ideas and build powerful, positive synergies.”
