Reappointment of Dai Tamesue as UNITAR Goodwill Ambassador

• Japanese athlete Mr Dai Tamesue was reappointed for the third year as UNITAR Goodwill Ambassador, effective 1 July 2023.
• Mr Tamesue says that it takes courage to take the first step to make the change, but one person’s courage will have a positive effect on others.
• Mr Tamesue was a panellist on the 1 July 2023 “Empowering Changemakers: A Force for Sustainable Futures” forum.
• UNITAR is honoured to continue working with Mr Tamesue in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals.

14 July 2023, Hiroshima, Japan – UNITAR welcomes the reappointment of renowned Japanese athlete Mr Dai Tamesue as UNITAR Goodwill Ambassador, effective 1 July 2023. This marks the third year of Mr Tamesue’s partnership with UNITAR. The reappointment was announced during the UNITAR anniversary celebration in Hiroshima on 30 June 2023.

At the ceremony, Mr Tamesue noted that in the world of sports, every time a person breaks a record, many others will follow – and this applies to the world outside of sports as well. It takes courage to take that first step, but one person’s courage will have a positive effect on others. The Goodwill Ambassador, who is a Hiroshima native and a third-generation hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor), looks forward to seeing more youth learn from the UNITAR programmes and take back to their countries what they learned in Hiroshima.

On the following day, 1 July 2023, Mr Tamesue joined the “Empowering Changemakers: A Force for Sustainable Futures” forum, organized to mark UNITAR’s 60th anniversary and UNITAR Hiroshima Office’s 20th anniversary. There, he shared his insights on the opportunities, challenges and needs of today’s youth, speaking from his experiences in supporting athletes from countries in difficult circumstances. He called upon changemakers to initiate and take action.

Since 2021, Mr Tamesue has supported UNITAR in raising public awareness about its learning programmes, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, through his video messages on relevant social topics. The Goodwill Ambassador was a panellist in UNITAR webinars on the gender gap for women in STEM (8 March 2022), Hiroshima Initiatives (6 August 2022), and “Peacebuilding and Women’s Empowerment through Sports” (22 October 2022).

UNITAR is honoured to continue working together with Mr Tamesue in outreach and communication activities and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mr Dai Tamesue is a native of Hiroshima City. The two-time World Championships bronze medallist made history in international sports as the first Japanese to win a medal at the World Athletics Championship. He represented Japan in the Olympic Games from 2000 to 2008 and was Goodwill Ambassador to the Bhutan Olympic Committee in 2015. He holds the Japanese record for the men’s 400-metre hurdles.

Since retiring from competitive athletics in 2012, Mr Tamesue has devoted himself to supporting fellow athletes. He is active in raising awareness in track and field sports as CEO of Deportare Partners and supporting para-sports as the Director of Shin-Toyosu Brillia Running Stadium.

Following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Mr Tamesue rallied fellow athletes and formed the “Team Japan” initiative, which raised more than 30 million yen to support the survivors.