Denzel Whitaker Named Honorary Ambassador For International Youth Summit

Actor and filmmaker Denzel Whitaker is set to join this year’s International Youth Media Summit as an honorary ambassador. The annual summit is committed to inspiring young people around the world to explore using film and other forms of media to address global issues.

Whitaker will act as a celebrity spokesperson for the summit ahead of the 19th event, which will be held in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It’ll be the first time the event is on the African continent. Selected delegates will participate in a film production and training led by media experts and those in the industry. There will be seven film production teams who will create films that tackle a different social issue: discrimination, environment, health, poverty, violence, women’s rights, and youth empowerment.

“I am incredibly excited and honored to be appointed as an ambassador for IYMS,” Whitaker said in a statement. “It has always been a mission statement of mine to help give access and drop ‘gems of wisdom’ upon our future leaders of tomorrow. Art is important… art is powerful…  It’s an absolute no-brainer for me to join IYMS in uplifting emerging voices while also shining a very necessary light upon my brothers and sisters of the African diaspora. Let’s change the world!”

The summit hopes to use its 2024 location to reach talent on the African content.

“At this historic moment for IYMS, we couldn’t ask for a better ambassador than Denzel Whitaker,” president of the International Youth Media Summit Evelyn Seubert said in a statement. “This year’s Summit is our most ambitious ever, as we work to build a Bridge to Africa. Denzel’s intelligence, artistry and energy are inspiring our entire team – on both sides of the globe.”

The summit will also include a special Coming Home ceremony, which will celebrate the last year of the UN International Decade of People of African Descent. Seubert said a video tribute will play, and African delegates will read the names of the Heroes Among Us, who she describes as “others in the diaspora who are unknown outside of their community, but through their contributions make life better for everyone every day.”

The summit will be a two-week intensive, taking place from July 21-Aug. 5, 2024.