World Food Programme
Official WFP logo
Org type	UN Humanitarian Programme
Acronyms	WFP
Head	Ertharin Cousin
Status	Active
Established	1961
Headquarters	Rome, Italy
Website	www.wfp.org

The World Food Programme (WFP) (Italian: Programma Alimentare Mondiale) is the food assistance branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide.^[1] WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children.^[2] From its headquarters in Rome and more than 80 country offices around the world, WFP works to help people who are unable to produce or obtain enough food for themselves and their families. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group and part of its Executive Committee.^[3]

Overview[link]

The WFP was first established in 1961^[4] after the 1960 Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Conference, when George McGovern, director of the US Food for Peace Programmes, proposed establishing a multilateral food aid programme. WFP was formally established in 1963 by the FAO and the United Nations General Assembly on a three-year experimental basis. In 1965, the programme was extended to a continuing basis.

Organization[link]

The WFP is governed by an Executive Board which consists of representatives from 36 member states. Ertharin Cousin is the current Executive Director, appointed jointly by the UN Secretary General and the Director-General of the FAO for a five-year term. She heads the Secretariat of WFP.^[5]

WFP has a staff of 11,799 people (2011) with 90% operating in the field.^[6]

Goals and strategies[link]

United Nations C-130 Hercules transports deliver food to the Rumbak region of Sudan

World Food Programme unloads humanitarian aid at the Freeport of Monrovia during Joint Task Force Liberia

An armored vehicle from the United Nations (UN) World Food Program (WFP)

WFP strives to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, with the ultimate goal in mind of eliminating the need for food aid itself.

The core strategies behind WFP activities, according to its mission statement, are to provide food aid to:

1. save lives in refugee and other emergency situations
2. improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable people at critical times in their lives
3. help build assets and promote the self-reliance of poor people and communities, particularly through labour-intensive works programmes

WFP food aid is also directed to fight micronutrient deficiencies, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, and combat disease, including HIV and AIDS. Food-for-work programmes help promote environmental and economic stability and agricultural production.

Activities[link]

In 2011, WFP reached 99.1 million people in 75 countries and provided 3.6 million tonnes of food, including nutritionally improved products such as Plumpy’sup and Plumpy’doz) and Supercereal Plus. The number of malnourished children who received special nutritional support in 2011 was over 11 million, up from 8.5 million in 2010. Some 23 million children received school meals or take-home rations. WFP has scaled up its use of cash and vouchers as food assistance tools. Some 4.4 million people received assistance through cash or voucher programmes in 2011. In 2011, WFP bought over 2.4 million metric tons of food, worth more than US$1.2 billion, in 87 countries. Of the 2.4 million metric tons of food, 71 per cent was purchased in developing countries, representing approximately US$870 million and more than 1.7 million metric tons.

Among its other activities, WFP is coordinating the five-year Purchase for Progress (P4P) pilot project. Launched in September 2008, P4P assists smallholder farmers by offering them opportunities to access agricultural markets and to become competitive players in the market place. The project is underway in 20 of the 21 planned countries and, since the launch, more than 116,000 farmers, warehouse operators and small & medium traders have received training from WFP and partners in improved agricultural production, post-harvest handling, quality assurance, group marketing, agricultural finance and contracting with WFP. More than 207,000 metric tons of food valued at US$75.6 million have been contracted.

WFP focuses its food assistance on those who are most vulnerable to hunger, which most frequently means women, children, the sick and the elderly. In fact, part of the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake consisted of distributing food aid to women as experience built up over almost 5 decades of working in emergency situations has demonstrated that giving food to women helps to ensure that it is spread evenly among all household members. School-feeding and/or take home ration programmes in 71 countries help students focus on their studies and encourage parents to send their children, especially girls, to school.

Funding[link]

WFP operations are funded by donations from world governments, corporations and private donors. All donations are voluntary. The organization's administrative costs are only seven percent—one of the lowest and best among aid agencies. In 2011, WFP's total revenue was $3.73 million. Over the period 2008-2012, private donors donated around $500 million.

FITTEST[link]

FITTEST in Port au Prince during the 2010 Haiti earthquake emergency response

The Fast Information Technology and Telecommunications Emergency and Support Team (FITTEST), is a group of technical specialists within the IT division of the World Food Programme (WFP).^[7] FITTEST provides IT, telecommunications and electricity infrastructure to support humanitarian aid operations anywhere in the world.

Humanitarian emergencies demand rapid interventions that are efficient, coordinated and effective. FITTEST responds to emergency requests and ensures staff are on the ground and ready to operate within 48 hours.

FITTEST is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The geographical location of this city facilitates the team’s deployment to emergencies around the world.

Operating on a cost-recovery basis, FITTEST is a unique cell within the United Nations system. Receiving no direct contribution from Governments or other humanitarian donors, FITTEST ensures its sustainability by operating in a similar way to a commercial company. The team operates on a limited margin (7.5%) which it uses to cover costs and initial training for its members. Such a method of operating ensures the application of very high service standards as FITTEST only survives if its 'clients' continue to utilise its services.

Official partners[link]

WFP coordinates and cooperates with a number of official partners in emergencies and development projects. These partners include national government agencies such as DFID, ECHO, EuropeAid, USAID; UN agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); non-governmental organizations such as Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services and Norwegian Refugee Council; as well as corporate partners such as TNT N.V., YUM! Brands, DSM N.V., and Cargill.^[8] You can also donate grains of rice by answering questions at www.freerice.com. For each question you get correct you donate 10 grains of rice.

Actor Drew Barrymore is Ambassador to the World Food Program and donated $1 Million US dollars in 2007.

World Hunger Relief Week[link]

In 2007, the World Food Programme joined forces with YUM! Brands, the world’s largest restaurant company, to launch the first annual World Hunger Relief Week, a global campaign to increase awareness about hunger, engage volunteers, and raise critically needed funds to help WFP serve the world's areas of greatest need. World Hunger Relief Week 2007 leveraged the power of nearly 35,000 restaurants around the world, sparking a global movement to end hunger and generating an overwhelming outpouring of support from millions of customers, employees, franchisees and their families. Nearly one million Yum!, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver's and A&W All American Food employees, franchisees and their families volunteered close to 4 million hours to aid hunger relief efforts in communities worldwide, while helping to raise $16 million throughout the World Hunger Relief Week initiative for the World Food Programme and other hunger relief agencies around the world. The initiative has been repeated every year since.

Grassroots efforts[link]

In 2004, the WFP tasked Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, US, with heading the first student-led War on Hunger effort, after a 2002 Northwestern University pilot. Auburn founded the Committee of 19, which has not only led campus and community hunger awareness events but also developed a War on Hunger model for use on campuses across the country.

WFP has launched a global advocacy and fundraising event called Walk the World. On one single day each year, hundreds of thousands of people in every time zone all over the world walk to call for the end of child hunger. In 2005, more than 200,000 people walked in 296 locations. In 2006, there were 760,000 participants in 118 countries all over the world. This event is part of the campaign to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, specifically to halve the number of people who suffer from hunger and poverty by 2015.

A growing number of grassroots global events and celebrations such as International Day of Peace, World Party Day participants, and Peace One Day recommend WFP on radio broadcasts as an immediate reach out action, putting help within reach of anyone with the information that a quarter feeds a child for a day. Fill the Cup campaign takes just 25 US cents to fill one of the "red cups" that the World Food Programme uses to give hungry children a regular school meal of porridge, rice or beans.^[9][10][11] Christina Aguilera, Drew Barrymore and Sean Penn are among notable celebrities who endorse WFP.^[12][13]

World Food Program USA[link]

World Food Program USA (formerly Friends of WFP) is an advocacy and fundraising charity that supports the WFP in the United States.^[14]

Criticism[link]

Critics claim the World Food Programme to be harmful to the aided countries. Kenyan economist James Shikwati says in an interview with Der Spiegel: "aid to Africa does more harm than good". According to him, the food aid increases corruption as local politicians steal some of the aid to bribe voters and/or sell the aid in the black markets killing the local agriculture. He claims that the WFP people as an organisation "are in the absurd situation of, on the one hand, being dedicated to the fight against hunger while, on the other hand, being faced with unemployment where hunger actually eliminated". He suggests that WFP answers too easily to the calls of the corrupted governments, and supplies too much of food aid leading to reduction of the production of local farmers as "no one can compete with the UN's World Food Program".

List of executive directors[link]

The following is a chronological list of those who have held the Executive Director of the World Food Programme position:^[15]

1. Addeke Hendrik Boerma (May 1962 - December 1967)
2. Sushil K. Dev (acting) (January 1968 - August 1968)
3. Franciso Aquino (July 1968 - May 1976)
4. Thomas C.M. Robinson (May 1976 - June 1977 acting; July 1977 - September 1977)
5. Garson N. Vogel (October 1977 - April 1981)
6. Bernardo de Azevedo Brito (acting) (May 1981 - February 1982)
7. Juan Felipe Yriart (acting) (February 1982 - April 1982)
8. James Ingram (April 1982 – April 1992)
9. Catherine Bertini (April 1992 – April 2002)
10. James T. Morris (April 2002 – April 2007)
11. Josette Sheeran (April 2007 – April 2012)
12. Ertharin Cousin (April 2012 – present)

See also[link]

Food portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: World Food Programme

• Asia Emergency Response Facility
• Fight Hunger: Walk the World
• Food Force, an educational game
• Food security
• Walk the World
• World Food Council
• World Party Day

References[link]

External links[link]

• World Food Programme (official website)
• "where we work" by WFP
• Free Rice – FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme.
• WFP Annual Report 2010.
• Friends of the World Food Program United States agency helping raise funds and awareness about global hunger
• Auburn University War on Hunger campaign – Student-led effort to raise awareness about global hunger
• From Hunger to Hope – World Hunger Relief Week is a global campaign to raise funds and awareness to support WFP hunger relief programs
• We feed back – You choose your favorite food, put it into the Feedback Calculator along with the estimated cost, and then calculate how many hungry children this would feed. The next step is to donate exactly that amount.
• C-SPAN Q&A interview with James Morris about the World Food Programme, June 4, 2006
• The War Against Hunger is a Fight We Need to Escalate (Cincinnati Enquirer, July 3, 2006)
• Let’s feed Afghan democracy: In a land facing hunger, we can fight the war on terror with food Novemember 12, 2006 Chicago Sun-Times.
• Food Quality Control (WFP's Food Specifications, Processing and Loss Mitigation )
• A Bill Congress Should Fund Article about McGovern-Dole School Feeding Program, North Adams Transcript November 20, 2006
• Fighting Hunger and poverty in Ethiopia (Peter Middlebrook)
• School Feeding Programs That Fight Child Hunger Interviews with World Food Programme officials about the status of school feeding programs in developing countries
• Ending Child Hunger: School Lunches for Kids Around the World short film with historical perspective and UN World Food Programme footage of their school feeding initiatives
• Ending World Hunger Feature Blogcritics Magazine
• Fighting Hunger in Yemen New York Times
• The Fast Gathering Storm of Hunger
• e-learning about Food Security from FAO
• "Human Rescue Plan". World Food Programme, 2009 (video).
• e-learning about Food Security from FAO
• "Human Rescue Plan". World Food Programme, 2009 (video).
• ICT Humanitarian Emergency Platform. Official site for coordination of ICT in emergencies hosted by WFP.
• Programma Alimentare Mondiale Italian website
• Welternährungsprogramm der Vereinten Nationen German website
• Programme Alimentaire Mondial French website
• Programa Mundial de Alimentos Spanish website
• "For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!" Spiegel article

v t e United Nations (UN) UN System Member states • Observers • General Assembly (President) • Security Council • Department of Economic and Social Affairs • Economic and Social Council • Secretariat (Secretary-General) • Trusteeship Council • International Court of Justice History League of Nations • Peacekeeping missions (history • timeline) • Enlargement Major[vague] offices New York (Headquarters) • Geneva (Office) • Nairobi (Office) • Vienna (Office) Programmes and agencies FAO • ICAO • ILO • IMO • IPCC • IAEA • UNIDO • ITU • UNAIDS • SCSL • UNCTAD • UNCITRAL • UNDG • UNDP • UNDPI • UNEP (OzonAction, UNEP/GRID-Arendal) • UNESCO • UNODC • UNFIP • UNFPA • OHCHR • UNHCR • UNHRC • UN-HABITAT • UNICEF • UNITAR • UNOSAT • UNRWA • UN Women • UNWTO • UPU • WFP • WHO • WMO Resolutions General Assembly • Security Council Elections 2011 UNSC • 2011 ICJ • 2012 UNGA President • 2012 UNSC Related topics Bretton Woods system • Charter • CTBTO • Delivering as One • Flag • Honor Flag • Global Compact • ICC • Laissez-Passer • OPCW • Treaty Series • UN Day • UDHR • MDGs • UN reform  Category •  Portal

The Right Honourable The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley OStJ
In Washington, D.C., January 2010
Head of the Policy Unit United Kingdom Independence Party
Incumbent
Assumed office November 2010
Leader	Lord Pearson of Rannoch Nigel Farage
Personal details
Born	(1952-02-14) 14 February 1952 (age 60)
Political party	UK Independence Party
Spouse(s)	Juliet Mary Anne Malherbe Jensen
Relations	Rosa Monckton (sister), Timothy, Jonathan and Anthony (brothers)
Alma mater	Churchill College, Cambridge University College, Cardiff
Occupation	Politician, journalist
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Christopher Walter Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (born 14 February 1952) is a British politician, public speaker,^[1] hereditary peer, and former newspaper editor. He has worked for The Universe, The Sunday Telegraph, Today and Evening Standard newspapers. He used to be a member of the Conservative Party. He served in Conservative Central Office and worked for Margaret Thatcher's Number 10 Policy Unit during the 1980s. In 2009 he joined the UK Independence Party, where he has been the Head of the Policy Unit since November 2010. He was Deputy Leader of the Party under Lord Pearson of Rannoch.

Monckton became known in the 1990s for his invention of the Eternity puzzle, a mathematical puzzle for which he offered a prize of one million pounds to the first person who could solve it within four years.^[2] In recent years he has come to public attention for holding sceptical views about man-made climate change.^[3][4][5][6]

Personal life[link]

Monckton was born the eldest son of the late Major-General Gilbert Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley and Marianna Letitia (nee Bower), former High Sheriff of Kent and a Dame of Malta. He has three brothers, Timothy, Jonathan and Anthony and a sister, Rosa, wife of journalist Dominic Lawson.

Monckton was educated at Harrow School and Churchill College, Cambridge (where he received his B.A. (Classics, 1974, Cantab., now M.A.)), and at University College, Cardiff, where he obtained a diploma in journalism studies. In 1990, he married Juliet Mary Anne Malherbe Jensen.

Monckton is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Broderers, an Officer of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, a Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and a member of the Roman Catholic Mass Media Commission. He is also a qualified Day Skipper with the Royal Yachting Association, and has been a trustee of the Hales Trophy for the Blue Riband of the Atlantic since 1986.^[7]

Career[link]

Journalism[link]

Monckton joined the Yorkshire Post in 1974 at the age of 22, where he worked as a reporter and leader-writer. From 1977 to 1978, he worked at Conservative Central Office as a press officer, becoming the editor of the Roman Catholic newspaper The Universe in 1979, then managing editor of The Sunday Telegraph magazine in 1981. He joined the London Evening Standard newspaper as a leader-writer in 1982.^[7] After a hiatus in his career as a journalist Monckton became assistant editor of the newly established, and now defunct, tabloid newspaper Today in 1986. He was a consulting editor for the Evening Standard from 1987 to 1992 and was its chief leader-writer from 1990 to 1992.^[7]

Since 2002 Monckton has had several newspaper articles published critical of the IPCC and current scientific consensus on climate change,^[8][9] in addition to more light hearted pieces related to his bowler hat wearing.^[10]

Downing Street political advisor[link]

In 1979, Monckton met Alfred Sherman, who co-founded the pro-Conservative think tank the Centre for Policy Studies with Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph in 1974. Sherman asked Monckton to take the minutes at the CPS's study group meetings.^[11] Monckton subsequently became the secretary for the centre's economic, forward strategy, health and employment study groups.^[12] He wrote a paper on the privatisation of council housing by means of a rent-to-mortgages scheme that brought him to the attention of Downing Street.^[11] Ferdinand Mount, the head of the Number 10 Policy Unit and a former CPS director, brought Monckton into the Policy Unit in 1982.^[12] He was recruited as a domestic specialist with responsibilities for housing and parliamentary affairs,^[13][14] working alongside Mount and Peter Shipley^[15] on projects such as the phasing out of council housing.^[13] He left the unit in 1986 to join the Today newspaper.^[12][16]

Monckton has asserted that he served as science adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during his years with the Number 10 Policy Unit, and that "it was I who – on the prime minister's behalf – kept a weather eye on the official science advisers to the government, from the chief scientific adviser downward."^[17] However, John Gummer, who was Environment Minister under Thatcher, has said that Monckton was "a bag carrier in Mrs Thatcher's office. And the idea that he advised her on climate change is laughable."^[18] Writing in The Guardian, Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment notes that Thatcher's memoirs, The Downing Street Years, do not mention Monckton and credit George Guise with the role of science advisor.^[17]

Entrepreneurship[link]

In 1995, Monckton and his wife opened Monckton's, a shirt shop in King's Road, Chelsea.^[19]

In 1999, Monckton created and published the Eternity puzzle, a geometric puzzle that involved tiling a dodecagon with 209 irregularly shaped polygons called polydrafters. A £1 million prize was won after 18 months by two Cambridge mathematicians.^[20] By that time, 500,000 puzzles had been sold. Monckton also launched the Eternity II puzzle in 2007, but, after the four-year prize period, no winner came forward to claim the £2 million prize.

Political career[link]

Although Monckton inherited a peerage, he did so after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999,^[21] which provided that hereditary peers would no longer have an automatic right to sit and vote in the House of Lords. Monckton asserts that the Act is flawed and unconstitutional, and has referred to himself as "a member of the Upper House of the United Kingdom legislature" in a letter to US Senators,^[22] and also as "a member of the Upper House but without the right to sit or vote."^[23]

The House of Lords authorities have said Monckton is not and never has been a member and that there is no such thing as a non-voting or honorary member of the House.^[6][24] In July 2011 the House took the "unprecedented step" of publishing online a cease and desist letter to Monckton from the Clerk of the Parliaments, which concluded, "I am publishing this letter on the parliamentary website so that anybody who wishes to check whether you are a Member of the House of Lords can view this official confirmation that you are not."^[25][26]

Notwithstanding his criticism of the House of Lords Act, Monckton has offered himself as a candidate for one of the retained seats for hereditary peers which it provides. He stood unsuccessfully in four by-elections for vacant seats created by deaths among the 92 hereditary peers remaining in the Lords after the reforms. He stood for a Conservative seat in a March 2007 by-election; of the 43 candidates, 31 received no votes, Monckton included.^[27] He subsequently stood in the crossbench by-elections of May 2008,^[28] July 2009,^[29] and June 2010,^[30] again receiving no votes. He was highly critical of the way the Lords was reformed, describing the procedure in the March 2007 by-election, with 43 candidates and 47 electors, as "a bizarre constitutional abortion."^[31]

He has also considered standing for election to the House of Commons (which hereditary peers are entitled to do if they are not members of the House of Lords). At the 2010 general election he was nominated as the UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate for the Scottish constituency of Perth and North Perthshire, but withdrew in accordance with UKIP's policy of not opposing other Eurosceptic parliamentary candidates.^[24] In June 2010, UKIP announced he had been appointed its deputy leader, to serve alongside David Campbell Bannerman.^[32]

In 2011 he stood as lead party-list candidate for UKIP in the Scottish Parliament constituency of Mid Scotland and Fife.^[33] Despite failing to gain representation in the Scottish Parliament, UKIP improved its performance in Mid Scotland and Fife, gaining 1.1% of the region's vote.

Political views[link]

Climate change[link]

Monckton is on record as accepting that there is a greenhouse effect,^[34] and that CO₂ contributes to it. However, he has said "there is a startling absence of correlation between the CO₂-concentration trend and the temperature trend, necessarily implying that—at least in the short term—there is little or no causative link between the two", but that, on a different timescale, there is "a close correlation between CO₂ concentration and temperature: but it was temperature that changed first".^[35] In a 2006 article he questioned the appropriateness of using a near-zero discount rate in the Stern Review, which, he wrote, had underestimated the costs of mitigation and overstated its benefits. He said that mitigation was "expensively futile without the consent of the Third World's fast-growing nations".^[36]

After a presentation by Monckton at Bethel University (Minnesota), Professor John P Abraham^[37] of University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) produced a rebuttal to Monckton's claims.^[38] Abraham investigated the origins of many of the claims by contacting the authors of those papers Monckton had cited^[39][40] and concluded that "he had misrepresented the science".^[40] Monckton "initiated the process of having Abraham hauled up before whatever academic panel his Bible College can muster, to answer disciplinary charges of wilful academic dishonesty amounting to gross professional misconduct unbecoming a member of his profession",^[41] and asked that Abraham's talk be removed from the University servers, and a donation of $10,000 and $100,000 be made respectively by Abraham and the University to the "United States Association of the Order of Malta for its charitable work in Haiti".^[42][43] The university responded that "The University of St Thomas respects your right to disagree with Professor Abraham, just as the University respects Professor Abraham's right to disagree with you. What we object to are your personal attacks against Father Dease, and Professor Abraham, your inflammatory language, and your decision to disparage Professor Abraham Father Dease and The University of St Thomas",^[44][45] and it refused all of Monckton's demands.^[46]

Since 2008 he has toured Britain, Ireland, the US, China, Canada, India, Colombia, South Africa and Australia delivering talks to groups related to the subject. In 2008-9 he was invited on four occasions before Congress to speak on the behalf of Republican representatives. He followed this up with his January 2010 and July 2011 tours of Australia, as well as tours of China and India in December 2011. Between 2009 and 2010 the film maker Rupert Murray followed Monckton on his climate change tour. The film was later broadcast on 31 January 2011 on BBC Four titled "Meet the sceptics". Prior to its broadcast its depiction of Monckton was described by fellow sceptic James Delingpole as "another hatchet job".^[47] Previously in 2008 Monckton had appeared in another BBC production "Earth: The Climate Wars" that he accused of making him look like a "potty peer".^[48] Monckton went to the High Court to gain an injunction against the "Meet the sceptics" broadcast, complaining of breach of contract and requesting a ruling that his three minute or 500 word rebuttal should be added to the programme. He did not obtain the injunction, the judge ruled that Monckton's interpretation of clarity in the contract was incorrect, and the "balance of justice" favoured refusal of the injunction.^[49]

In July and August 2011 Monckton toured Australia and New Zealand, becoming the first climate sceptic to be allowed to address the weekly nationally-televised meeting of the Press Club in Canberra. The format was that of a debate against Dr. Dennis, the director of the Australia Institute. Roy Morgan Research conducted a continuous opinion tracking survey during the hour-long debate, and declared Monckton the winner, saying he had converted 9% of Australians to the view that climate fears had been exaggerated.^[50]

Social and economic policy[link]

Eddy Shah: Today and the Newspaper Revolution describes him as "a fervent, forthright and opinionated Roman Catholic Tory"^[51] who has been closely associated with the "New Right" faction of the Conservative Party.^[52] As one of Margaret Thatcher's policy advisors, he has been credited with being "the brains behind the Thatcherite policy of giving council tenants (public housing) the right to buy their homes."^[53] Criticizing the campaign to save the Ravenscraig ironworks, Monckton wrote, "The Scots are subsidy junkies whingeing like a trampled bagpipe as they wait for their next fix of English taxpayers' money." This is believed to be the first use of the now well-known phrase "subsidy junkies".^[54]

He has been associated with the Referendum Party, advising its founder, Sir James Goldsmith. In 2003 he helped a Scottish Tory breakaway group, the Scottish Peoples Alliance.^[53] In 2009 he joined the UK Independence Party;^[55] he was deputy leader in 2011 and is now head of policy. ^[32] Monckton was a sponsor of the Conservative Family Campaign in the 1990s.^[56]

In 1997, Monckton criticised works at the Fotofeis (the Scottish International Festival of Photography) and Sensation as "feeble-minded, cheap, pitiable, exploitative sensationalism perpetrated by the talent-free and perpetuated by over-funded, useless, muddle-headed, middle-aged, pot-bellied, brewer's-droopy quangoes which a courageous Government would forthwith cease to subsidise with your money and mine."^[57]

Views on AIDS[link]

In a 1987 article for The American Spectator entitled "AIDS: A British View", he argued that "there is only one way to stop AIDS. That is to screen the entire population regularly and to quarantine all carriers of the disease for life. Every member of the population should be blood-tested every month ... all those found to be infected with the virus, even if only as carriers, should be isolated compulsorily, immediately, and permanently." This would involve isolating between 1.5 and 3 million people in the United States ("not altogether impossible") and another 30,000 people in the UK ("not insuperably difficult"). Monckton's article concluded, however, that current Western sensibilities would not allow this standard protocol for containing a new, fatal and incurable infection to be applied: therefore, he said, many would needlessly die. The American Spectator's then assistant managing editor, Andrew Ferguson, denounced it in the letters column of the same issue.^[58] Monckton appeared on the BBC's Panorama programme in February 1987 to discuss his views and present the results of an opinion poll that found public support for his position.^[52]

Monckton has since stated "the article was written at the very outset of the AIDS epidemic, and with 33 million people around the world now infected, the possibility of [quarantine] is laughable. It couldn't work." He also said that this standard protocol could have worked at the time; that senior HIV investigators had called for it; and that many of the lives that have been lost could have been saved.^[59]

Resurrexi Pharmaceutical[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Christopher Monckton

Resurrexi Pharmaceutical is stated on the UK Independence Party (UKIP) web site to be a company of which Monckton is a director. In the BBC documentary, "Meet the Sceptics" (2011),^[47] Monckton, said he had cured himself of Graves' disease an auto-immune disease thought to have been triggered either by a one-time virus or bacterial infection, and said he was researching a "broad-spectrum cure" for infectious diseases. UKIP's CV for Monckton states that "patients have been cured of various infectious diseases, including Graves' Disease, multiple sclerosis, influenza, and herpes simplex 6. Our first HIV patient had his viral titre reduced by 38% in five days, with no side-effects. Tests continue."^[60]

European integration[link]

Monckton has been an advocate of Euroscepticism for many years; as he put it in a 2007 interview, he would "leave the European Union, close down 90 per cent of government services and shift power away from the atheistic, humanistic government and into the hands of families and individuals."^[61] In 1994, he sued the Conservative government of John Major for agreeing to contribute to the costs of the Protocol on Social Policy agreed in the 1993 Maastricht Treaty, although the UK had an opt-out from the protocol. The case was heard in the Scottish Court of Session in May 1994. His petition for judicial review was dismissed by the court for want of relevancy.^[62]

Published works[link]

• The Laker Story (with Ivan Fallon). Christensen, 1982. ISBN 0-9508007-0-8
• Anglican Orders: null and void?. Family History Books, 1986.
• The AIDS Report. 1987
• European Monetary Union: opportunities and dangers. University of St. Andrews, Department of Economics. 1997
• Sudoku X. Headline Publishing Group, 2005. ISBN 0-7553-1501-4
• Sudoku X-mas. Headline Publishing Group, 2005. ISBN 0-7553-1502-2
• Sudoku Xpert. Headline Publishing Group, 2006. ISBN 0-7553-1529-4
• Junior Sudoku X. Headline Publishing Group, 2006. ISBN 0-7553-1528-6
• Sudoku Xtreme. Headline Publishing Group, 2006. ISBN 0-7553-1530-8
• "Climate Sensitivity Reconsidered". Forum on Physics and Society, American Physical Society. July 2008. http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/200807/monckton.cfm. 

The Science and Public Policy Institute, of which Monckton is policy director, has published nine non peer-reviewed articles by Monckton on climate-change science.^[63]

See also[link]

• Gilbert Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley
• Rosa Monckton

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Christopher Monckton

• Apocalypse Cancelled (PDF)
• Greenhouse warming? What greenhouse warming? by Christopher Monckton
• Gore Gored (PDF) Monckton's response to Gore
• Monckton saves the day!, The Observer, 6 May 2007

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2012)

Ertharin Cousin
Cousin in 2009
12th Executive Director of the World Food Programme
Incumbent
Assumed office April 5, 2012
Preceded by	Josette Sheeran (2007–2012)
9th United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture
In office August 17, 2009 – April 2012
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Gaddi Vasquez
Personal details
Born	1957 Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Government Food industry executive Charity executive

Ertharin Cousin (born 1957) is, since 2012, the twelfth Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme.

From 2009 to 2012, Ertharin Cousin served under President Barack Obama as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, serving in Rome, Italy, and chief of the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome. Before that, she worked in a variety of public and private sector positions, first as a Democratic Party official, later specializing in the food industry and related charities from the late 1990s on.

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Cousin grew up in the poor Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois along with her three sisters. Her mother, Anne Cousin, worked in the social services field and her father often engaged in volunteer community development work.

She earned a B.A. degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1979 and a J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1982. At the latter, she studied international law under former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk.

Cousin worked in Illinois as Assistant Attorney General and Western Regionals Office Director for the Illinois Attorney General’s office and as Deputy Director of the Chicago Ethics Board. In the private sector she was Director of Governmental Affairs for AT&T.

Washington years[link]

Cousin moved to Washington, D.C., and during 1993 worked as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Democratic National Committee. She joined the Clinton administration in 1994 as the White House Liaison at the U.S. State Department. There she received a Meritorious Service Award. She served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

In 1996 she stepped down from that post in order to run the Illinois operation of the Clinton–Gore presidential campaign. After the campaign's victory, she served as Vice-President of Government, Community and Political Affairs for the 1997 Presidential Inaugural Committee making reference to the Second inauguration of Bill Clinton.

Food industry and charity[link]

In 1997 she received a White House appointment for a four-year term to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development. There she supported many of the agricultural projects being run by the United States Agency for International Development. At the same time, she was Vice-President for Government and Community Affairs for Jewel Food stores. In 1999, Albertsons LLC bought Jewel and Cousin became Group Vice President of Public Affairs for Albertsons and then Senior Vice President of Public Affairs. While working for Albertsons, she also served as President and Chair of the company's corporate foundation, managing the organization’s philanthropic activities. She also served as the Albertsons' official spokesperson.

In 2002, Cousin joined the board of America's Second Harvest, the nation’s largest domestic hunger organization, and in 2004 she became its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer . Among her achievements during this period was leading the organization’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, an effort which resulted in the distribution of more than 62 million pounds of food to those in need across the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Cousin helped raise the annual revenue of the organization from $20 million to $56 million during her time there.

Cousin left America's Second Harvest in 2006 and founded and served as President of The Polk Street Group, a national public affairs consulting firm located in Chicago. In 2009, she handed over the reins to her son, Maurice Cousin, in order to accept the ambassadorial appointment.

U.S. Ambassador[link]

Ambassador Cousin addresses an Earth Day event in Rome in April 2010.

On Jun 19, 2009, Cousin was nominated by President Barack Obama to become United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, serving in Rome, Italy. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 7, 2009, and sworn in as Ambassador on August 17, 2009. There she is chief of the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome and is part of the "Tri-Mission Community" that also includes the United States Ambassador to Italy and the United States Ambassador to the Holy See.

During her time in Rome, she has efforted the setting up of new country-led aid programs. She worked towards providing food relief to Port-au-Prince following the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake. She has said that seeing the famous sights of Rome does not get old and that her biggest surprise in the job is, "When people talk about 'Her Excellency, Ertharin Cousin.' You know, I grew up in Lawndale. You're a long way from there when someone's referring to you as 'Your Excellency.'"

Executive Director of World Food Programme[link]

In January 2012, the U.S. State Department announced that Cousin would become Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, succeeding Josette Sheeran when the latter's term expired in April 2012. Cousin was supported in a quote made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in reference to her appointment stating, "... [Cousin] has been central to designing and implementing our country's food security policies. I am confident that she will continue to be a powerful voice in the global fight against hunger and lend her energy, optimism and experience to the World Food Programme." Indeed, Cousin received the nomination after the U.S. opposed another term for Sheeran, who had been appointed by the George W. Bush administration.

Ertharin Cousin began her tenure as the twelfth Executive Director on April 5, 2012. In taking the position, she stated that she fully supported the WFP's transition from food aid to food assistance, saying "I think that debate is over. That WFP is a food assistance organization, with the right tools and those tools include food aid. But also cash and vouchers and all the other things we have on the table."

Sources[link]

• Biography at World Food Programme
•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Ambassador Ertharin Cousin".
• Biography at The History Makers
• Biography at The Polk Street Group
• Interview in Chicago Tribune
• Senate confirmation testimony of Ertharin Cousin, July 28, 2009
•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Appointment of Ambassador Ertharin Cousin as Executive Director of the World Food Programme".
• Foreign Policy piece on Cousin appointment to World Food Programme, January 3, 2012

External links[link]

The Ambassador's Blog

• "Women Can Drive Agricultural-Led Growth" - Mar. 8, 2010
• "Haiti’s Agriculture Focus: Enhance Food Security, Generate Income, Create Jobs - Feb. 19, 2010
• "Working With Haiti To Improve Food Supply and Nutrition" - Feb. 5, 2010
• "Kilimo Kwanza" - Dec. 15, 2009
• Leveraging Food - Dec. 8, 2009
• Livestock as Lifeblood- Dec. 7, 2009

Sami Yusuf
Yusuf in 2011
Background information
Born	July 1980 (age 31) Tehran, Iran
Genres	Spiritique
Occupations	musician, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter
Instruments	piano, keyboard, violin, tar, santour, tombak, oud, tabla
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Awakening Records 2003–2009 ETM International 2009–Present
Associated acts	Ian Brown, Sezen Aksu, Conner Reeves
Website	SamiYusufOfficial.com

Sami Yusuf is a British singer-songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist musician of Azerbaijan origin.^[1]

In 2003 Yusuf released his first album "Al-Mu`allim" at the age of 23, selling over two million copies. Following the release of his second album "My Ummah" in 2005, Yusuf was heralded as "Islam's Biggest Rock Star" by Time magazine for his success in attracting a relatively young fan base from diverse regions across the world, many of whom were of Muslim backgrounds. Yusuf has sold over 9 million albums.^[2] In October 2010, following a five-year hiatus, Yusuf’s third official album "Wherever You Are" was launched, manifesting his self-coined genre “Spiritique”. Yusuf is involved in humanitarian initiatives, supporting, among others, Islamic Relief and Save the Children.

Early life[link]

An ethnic Azeri born in Tehran, Yusuf was raised in London from the age of three.^[3] He initially began composing simple melodies starting at the age of three,^[4] and performing on stage for the first time around the age of nine.^[5] His “defining moment”^[6][7] musically occurred when his father loaned him a book on the basics of the Tombak [Persian instrument]. Upon returning from a tea break, his father found that the young Yusuf had mastered the book that had taken months for his students to finish.^[8] As a teenager he was a devotee of classical music and classical icons like Chopin and Mozart, admitting that he listened to Classic FM radio station for hours in a day.^[9] He went on training professionally in several other instruments including the santoor, piano, violin, oud, setar, tar, and daf under the guidance of traditional teachers, as well as professional musicians. While producing and demo-recording for another singer, he became aware of his own singing abilities which were further developed by the encouragement of his family. Divided between pursuing a musical career or studying law at King’s College London, Yusuf opted for music while committed to “doing something dignified and respectable”.^[9] Though he claimed to having been always spiritual, he reconnected with his Islamic faith through a “religious awakening”^[10] at the age of sixteen. He then set out to share his experience with the other young British Muslims he felt were direly in search of an identity especially post 9/11. Yusuf self-produced and released his debut album “Al-mu’allim” at the age of 23, pioneering an innovative trend other Muslim artist would seek to emulate and promote, termed "Islamic pop".^[11]

Professional career[link]

(2003–2004) – Al-Mu'allim[link]

Shortly before traveling to Egypt to study Arabic, Sami Yusuf released his debut album Al-Mu`allim in July 2003 and 2004, a primarily percussive album comprising eight tracks.^[12] The radiant cube and purple background of the album cover symbolized “the light of the Prophetic message illuminating the darkness of the night”.^[12] Its feature song, "Al-Mu’allim", became an instant hit in the Middle East, North Africa, and South-East Asia topping the charts in Egypt and Turkey for twelve consecutive weeks, selling over two million copies worldwide.^[13] Believing that music can be a "powerful medium to promote ideas and establish dialogue within society”,^[14] he coalesced Eastern percussive instrumentation and Western melodies in “Al-Mu’allim” with a focus on the English and Arabic languages. The last track, “Supplication”, was used in the Golden-Globe award-nominated film, “The Kite Runner”.^[15] Though the album was described as a “project to define British Muslim identity”^[16] in a post 9-11 period — with explicitly religious themes praising the Prophet Mohammad and Allah in songs like “The Creator” and “Ya Mustafa” — it reached the ears of unexpectedly diverse range of listeners, constituting of various nationalities, ages, and races.^[12] Redirecting the current of Muslim music through his songs and professionally produced music videos (“Al-Mu’allim” and “Supplication”), Yusuf had “unintentionally” cultivated grounds for a fresh genre of music coined "Islamic Pop"^[11] by setting a new benchmark in the religious music industry. The journal Transnational Broadcasting Studies analyzed the main causes of his success by attributing it to Yusuf’s ability to blend “a religious worldview with a mainstream form of entertainment, and in doing so, [communicating] a personable, accessible expression of the Islamic faith that is in harmony with the modern world and incorporated into the mundane activities of daily life”.^[17]

(2005–2009) – My Ummah[link]

Performing at Royal Concert Hall Glasgow, April 2006

Yusuf gained worldwide recognition following the release of his second album, My Ummah, in July 2005. This album appeared in both musical and percussive versions and includes fourteen tracks. The album’s thematic elements include empowerment of women in “Free”, raising awareness of the plight of victims of conflict-laden regions like Palestine and Darfur in the respective tracks of “Try Not to Cry” (featuring Outlandish) and “Make A Prayer”; “Muhammad” was dedicated to the victims of the 2004 Beslan school massacre, whereas “We Will Never Submit” protested against acquiescence to oppression.^[18] The album, both Eastern and Western in sound, utilized wide-ranging musical instrumentation from classical instruments like piano, violin, flute and drums to ethnic instruments like oud, santour, tar, drums, tombak and more. "My Ummah" was an embodiment of Yusuf’s "utopia for the Muslim World or humanity at large".^[19] Considered a breakthrough album^{[by whom?]}, it sold over four million copies globally and was received enthusiastically by a diverse range of listeners, particularly young people, who identified closely with the topics included therein.^[20] Transnational Broadcasting Studies discussed the exposure of Muslim youth to a new dawn of Islamic “art with purpose”, accrediting this opening to Yusuf’s music that had the power "to both preserve core cultural identity and promote spiritual and material progress“.^[17] Yusuf's music video featuring the Afghan folklore “Hasbi Rabbi” became a regional hit in Egypt, and was used to launch Vodafone Egypt’s value-added-service (VAS) platform Vodafone Live.^[21] The video portrays Yusuf in multiple characters and locations: as a practicing Muslim businessman in London, a teacher playing soccer and tutoring in Taj Mahal, then a professional Volinist jubilantly laughing and chatting with his bandmates in Turkey, and finally as a jovial carpenter in the lively bazaar's of Egypt. Recognized by The Independent as the "Voice of Islam",^[22] Yusuf emphasized that he was not a "preacher",^[23] rather a musician with a message^[24] who believes in the urgent need for “a wave of people to come along and bridge the gaps, because we have so much in common, so much to learn from each other”.^[20] A major addition to his artistic repertoire was Oscar-winning director Marc Forster's proposal to Yusuf to compose a credit-piece for the Golden Globe award-nominated film, The Kite Runner.^[25] Due to time constraints on both sides however, the credit piece was never realised but “Supplication”, a track from Yusuf’s debut album, was used to voice one of the film’s climactic scenes.^[26] Reluctant to be dubbed as “Islam’s Biggest Rock Star” by Time, Yusuf later explained that he does not "want to be a rock star ... a popstar. ... I just want to make good music, and do what I feel I’m confident in doing ... and that’s music”.^[11]

(2005–2009) Dispute with Former Label[link]

In a contractual dispute lasting from 2008 to 2009, Yusuf legally separated from his former record label Awakening. He claimed the "third" album, Without You, released by Awakening in January 2009, was released without his prior “blessings nor consent”. He stated: “I therefore wish to make it perfectly clear that an album comprised of any such recordings could only be put on to the market against my wishes and without my approval”.^[27] In mid-2009, he signed a five-album contract with the UK-based record label ETM International.^[28]

(2009 – present) – Wherever You Are Pre-Release[link]

In July 2009, Yusuf was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in recognition of his “extraordinary contributions to the field of music” by Roehampton University in southwest London.^[29] Earlier in the year, he was selected to serve as the first Global Ambassador of HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser’s (Qatar's First Lady) initiative, Silatech, which seeks to engage “the public, private and civil society sectors to promote large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship and access to capital and markets for young people”.^[30] Ranked in the “Top 500 Influential Muslims of 2009 (and 2010) ”, a publication edited by Georgetown University’s John Esposito and Ibrahim Kahlin, Yusuf was described as an “internationally popular British singer-songwriter whose music has revolutionized the nasheed industry. ... He is also known for his extensive involvement in charity work”.^[31] Yusuf released his video single, “You Came To Me,” in four languages (English, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian) in the summer of 2009.^[32] Rolling Stone magazine called the style by which Yusuf sung the track’s lyrics “touching”, listing it as one of the key tracks of the “Wherever You Are” album.^[33] SamiYusufOfficial.com announced the release of “Wherever You Are”, Yusuf’s third official album, in March 2010, introducing it as “A renaissance. A Rebirth. A New Beginning”.^[34] Meanwhile in the following summer, Yusuf shared his music video “Healing” sung in English and Arabic that was created in cooperation with the KSA-based International Medical Center.^[35] It was also listed as another key track by Rolling Stone magazine.^[33] In reference to the song’s underlying philosophy of generosity in lines like “Heal and you will be healed/…Give and you will receive/It’s nature’s order”, Yusuf’s wrote on his blog: “I hope it helps, albeit in some small way, in showing that every single one of us can be a healer”.^[36] Amidst the torrential monsoons that wreaked havoc in Pakistan and affected 20 million lives in the summer of 2010, he promptly released a charity single entitled “Hear Your Call”, performed in English and Urdu, to raise funds for the displaced Pakistanis in a joint-effort with the UN-sponsored charity organization Save the Children.^[37][38] The song was featured on a short film by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA)^[39] appealing for renewed donations towards the relief effort. Prompted by the protests and clashes that transpired in Egypt in February 2011, Yusuf released a free track entitled “I’m Your Hope”, dedicating it to the “Shabaab” or youth.^[40] The lyrics are in English and Arabic.^[41] Sami Yusuf has expressed keen interest on initiating his own “record company to help artists and talents that are not supported” in the near future.^[42]

(2009–Present) Wherever You Are: “New Chapter” and“Spiritique”[link]

Performing live in the Maida Vale Studios,^[43][44] Yusuf explained that “It's 2009, I have different challenges, I've got different issues and I will not sing religious-themed music just for the sake of business – it's got to be what I feel”. After a five-yearlong hiatus, Yusuf released his third, official studio album named Wherever You Are in October 2010, welcoming what he termed a “New Chapter” in his professional career and music.^[45] "Spiritique" is Yusuf’s self-coined musical and philosophical classification of his music. Spiritique, according to Yusuf, is a blend of both the “oriental and occidental” sounds, underpinned by spirituality that “will utilize music as a facilitator for spiritual appreciation, regardless of race and religion”. Yusuf considers it his new sound and “something [he] wants to stand for from now”.^[46] With the exceptions of songs like “No Word is Worthy”, “You Came To Me” and "Salaam" (though the latter is more of a 'humanitarian ode' than religiously themed) the 12 track-set album purposely draws less upon religious content^[47] leaving room for interpretation for listeners of all backgrounds. Yusuf maintains, however, that it follows the “same principles and ingredients [of] honesty, [and] sincerity”.^[48] Introducing the album in its official trailer as a “mini diary of events”^[49] that occurred from 2007 to 2010, Yusuf emphasized that the content is essentially a reflection of his worldview: “This third album is about who I am and the reality of the day and age we are living in. It talks about the hypocrisy. ... it’s quite dark”.^[47] Songs like “Give the Young A Chance”, featuring lyrics by Ian Brown, incorporate heavy usage of metaphors, likening the youth to “jewels” and allusions to “gardens where birds will sing lullabies” and “sweet scents fill the air”.^[50] British singer-songwriter Conner Reeves and Turkish singer Sezen Aksu also collaborated with Yusuf in the track “Without You”.^[51] “In Every Tear, He Is There” song, another track collaboration with Conner Reeves, concludes with an African choir singing “In Every Tear/ That is where/He is There” repeatedly in Zulu.^[52] “Fragile World”, Yusuf’s admittedly own favorite track,^[53] is reflective of the “dark”^[47] experiences he underwent throughout the years.^[54] Though predominantly performed in English, several tracks include verses in Arabic, Malaysian, Persian and Urdu. It has been given 3.5 stars out of 4 by Rolling Stone magazine, and commended as a “beautifully produced album”.^[55] Sami Yusuf has visited Turkey, UAE, and Qatar to promote “Wherever You Are” and is due to travel to Egypt, Singapore, Malaysia, and Jordan in the near future,^[56] plus an upcoming European tour scheduled for spring 2011.^[57] The video for "In Every Tear He Is There" has been released and that for "Make Me Strong" was released on 6th April 2012.^[58]. Sami Yusuf has also announced his forth upcoming studio album called "Salaam" which is featuring Siti Nurhaliza, the pop-star of Malaysia. Sami Yusuf will release it soon.^[59].

Notable Tours/Concert Performances[link]

Yusuf arrives in the Netherlands on tour in 2006

Yusuf’s tours and concert performances throughout the past eight years have been extensive. His more notable^{[by whom?]} tours include sold-out concerts in the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Concert Hall in the UK in 2006, in addition to a comprehensive Germany tour in 2007. He performed to crowds of thousands in Bosnia, Canada, France, Belgium, Finland, Austria, Greece, and the Netherlands (which he considers one of his favorite concerts).^{[citation needed]} He toured the United States in 2006 and 2007, singing at venues in Los Angeles, Detroit, Dallas, Chicago, and New Jersey in venues like the LA Shrine Auditorium.^{[citation needed]} In the Middle East and Asian regions, he performed to tens of thousands in Egypt’s Cairo and Alexandria, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Algeria, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Tajikistan, and Saudi Arabia. He received a record crowd of 250,000 in Istanbul, Turkey earning the name “Islam’s Biggest Rock Star” in Time magazine. In an early concert in Azerbaijan, Yusuf experienced what he likened to a “hero’s welcome” in his ancestral homeland.^{[citation needed]} Over 50,000 people attend his shows in the Casa Music Festival in Casablanca, Morocco in 2007, exceeding by double the venue’s space limit.^{[citation needed]} In the highly publicized concert at Wembley Arena [dubbed the press as the “Muslim Live Aid”^{[citation needed]}], which served as a milestone event where approximately two million pounds were raised for the relief effort in Darfur, Sudan. It was warmly received by a thank-you video message by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.^{[citation needed]} Performing in The Velodrome in Capetown, Durban, and Johannesburg in his 2008 South Africa Tour, Yusuf accompanied the Agape Children Orphanage’s choir, singing along with their feature song “We Are Together” – the title of a multi-award winning HBO film on the Agape Children’s Orphanage. After performing in the Moroccan Fez Wold Sacred Music Festival in 2009, he agreed to do a free concert for the locals that drew in approximately a hundred thousand attendees, with one day’s notice.^{[citation needed]} Packing venues again in Faruma Arena, Denmark, Grugahalle in Germany, and De Doelen in Netherlands, Yusuf introduced his forthcoming album, “Wherever You Are”.^[60] Sami Yusuf has visited Turkey, UAE, and Qatar^[56] to promote “Wherever You Are” and is due to travel to Egypt, Singapore, Malaysia, and Jordan^[56] in the near future. An upcoming European tour is scheduled for spring 2011.^[57]

Acclaim/Recognition[link]

• “Islam’s Biggest Rock Star” – Time Magazine (2006)^[20]
• “Biggest Star in the Middle East” – Guardian (2006)^[61]
• “King of Islamic Pop” – Al-Jazeera (2007)^[11]
• IOL Star of 2009 (2009)^[62]
• 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2009 (2009)^[63]
• BBC’s 30 More Famous Britons (2009)^[64]
• First Global Ambassador of Silatech (2009 – Present)^[65]
• Doctor of Letters Award – Roehampton University (2009)^[66]
• 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2010 (2010)^[63]

Collaborations[link]

• Outlandish – Try Not to Cry, I’ve Seen (2005)
• Erkan Mutlu – Wherever You Are (2010)
• Sezen Aksu – Wherever You Are (2010)
• Ian Brown – Wherever You Are (2010)
• Conner Reeves – Wherever You Are (2010)

Charity Work/Humanitarian Initiatives[link]

• Charity Event for Disabled Children – Cairo, Egypt (2005)^[67]
• Evening of Inspiration – Islamic Relief/UK Tour (2006)^[68]
• Evening of Inspiration – Islamic Relief/US Tour (2006)<refname=time1/>
• Evening of Inspiration – Islamic Relief/US Tour (2007)^[69]
• Wembley Arena – UK (2007)^[70]
• Agape Children’s Orphanage concert – South Africa (2008)^[71]
• Telethon Fundraiser for Gaza (2009)^[72]
• Gaza Rally – Istanbul, Turkey (2009)^[73]
• First global ambassador of Silatech (2009)^[74]
• “Hear Your Call” – Save the Children, Pakistan (2010)^[75]
• “I’m Your Hope” (2011)^[76]
• “In Every Tear, He Is There” – Haiti, South Africa (2011)

Discography[link]

• Al-Mu`allim (2003) – 3 Million^[77]
• My Ummah (2005) – 4 Million^[2]
• Without You (2009)
• Wherever You Are (2010) – N/A

Soundtracks (Singles)[link]

• "Supplication" – Adapted in “The Kite Runner” (2007)
• "Palestine Forever" (2009)
• "Anything For You" (2009)
• "You Came to Me" (2009)
• "Healing" (2010)
• "Hear Your Call" (2010)
• "I’m Your Hope" (2011)
• "In Every Tear, He Is There" (2011)
• "The Source" (2011)
• "Forgotten Promises" (2011)

Music Videos[link]

• Al-Mu’allim – Dir. Hani Osama
• Supplication – Dir. Hani Osama
• Hasbi Rabbi – Dir. Hani Osama
• Mother – Dir. Hani Osama
• Asma Allah – Dir. Hani Osama
• Healing – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk
• You Came to Me – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk
• In Every Tear He Is There – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk
• Hear Your Call – Dir. Daniyal Noorani
• I’m Your Hope – Dir. Kareem Shaaban
• Forgotten Promises - Dir. Siros Kerdouni
• Make Me Strong – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk

References[link]