Bob Weir Appointed United Nations Goodwill Ambassador

Grateful Dead co-founding guitarist Bob Weir was honored yesterday as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. Weir received the appointment from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during the Social Good Summit in New York City. Bob spoke about the role the Grateful Dead and their fans played in protecting the planet and the rainforests at the Social Good Summit.

In his role as United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, Weir will help the UNDP advocate for climate initiatives and projects that help develop renewable energy sources, save our coastlines, fight deforestation and ensure a healthy planet for all. “I’d like to see climate change and the ongoing diminishing of biodiversity arrested and dealt with to the point where the sustainability of life on earth isn’t threatened,” Bob told Billboard. “I’d also like to see people reflexively consider the good of the planet in the choices they regularly make.”

Other UN Goodwill Ambassadors include Didier Drogba, Connie Britton and Prince Haakon of Norway. Weir made multiple appearances at the NYC event including one with Jeff Martin, CEO of Tribal Planet, a Silicon Valley mobile digital disruptor, about bringing together a broad ecosystem of public and private sector organizations to deliver social impact. “Actions and transactions and the folks behind them are becoming a new currency,” the guitarist said as part of his speech at the Social Good Summit. Watch Bob’s speech around the 1:08:00 mark and return for a panel around the 3:32:00 mark:

https://livestream.com/accounts/1467982/events/7720494/videos/162915374

Here’s Bob talking briefly about what he’d like to see by 2030: