ABOUT RICKY MARTIN
“Let us work together to create a world in which the basic rights of all individuals are respected and our own children can live in a safe environment. Are the children our future? No, they are not. They are our present. Human trafficking has no place in our world today.” - Ricky Martin, President & Founder
With more than 65 million copies sold in his musical career, the multiple Grammy winner and renowned international artist established the Ricky Martin Foundation to advocate for the well-being of children around the globe in critical areas such as social justice, education, and health. After his 2002 humanitarian visit to India, where Martin rescued three girls from falling prey to human trafficking, the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador went to Washington DC to join activists in the international fight against the most vicious violation of human rights.
Convinced that music, like philanthropy, bridges hope, in 2004 he launched People for Children - the Foundation's principal project, to provide education and support for international efforts seeking the elimination of human trafficking -- with special emphasis on children. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked every year for exploitation purposes such as forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation and prostitution, among other forms of slavery. That same year, Martin addressed government officials and representatives at the United Nations in New York, to publicly condemn international child-sex tourism.
In 2005, Martin received the International Humanitarian Award, a distinction made by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The State Department also included Martin as an International Hero in its Annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2005. That summer he became the first Latin American to participate as an Honorary Speaker at the 24th Arab Children Congress, an international event organized by Queen Noor in Jordan.
Martin addressed the U.S. Congress' House International Relations Committee in 2006 and encouraged all of the world's countries to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and enforce a strong birth-registration policy, among other standards. Following this hearing, the Foundation joined the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and Slavery, headquartered in Washington, D.C., which lobbies for adequate public policymaking aimed at deterring this global nightmare. That same year, the Latin Grammy Recording Academy honored Martin with their highest accolade “Person of the Year” for his commitment to combat child exploitation and extraordinary musical career.
To fight this horrible crime, the Foundation also joined forces with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2006 to launch Call and Live -- the first regional campaign to combat human trafficking in the Americas. The foregoing has been deployed in Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Latino community in D.C. and Mexico State.
Unfortunately, violence committed towards children is also rampant over the Internet. In order to help prevent cyber crimes, the Foundation and Microsoft responded by launching in Navega Protegido, an online child-safety campaign with videos and educational materials that provide teachers, students and parents tools to protect children from hazards on the Internet such as pornography, predators and identity theft. In 2007, Martin received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his musical and humanitarian legacy.
In February 2008, Martin participated as an Honorary Speaker at the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking Forum in Vienna. Shortly thereafter in March, Martin took his fight against child trafficking to Cambodia where he met with high level government officials and visited various projects run by non-governmental organizations fighting this crime.
Martin participated in the Clinton Global Initiative 2009 as a Special Presenter in the Human Trafficking Forum. That same year RTL Foundation selected the Ricky Martin Foundation Child Development and Prevention Center as the international project among other four European projects to be recipients of donations during the renowned RTL Spendenmarathon on November.
In 2010, Martin partnered again with Habitat for Humanity after the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile and announced the creation of the RMF HFH Recovery Fund as a long term strategy to construct homes and rebuild hope. He also released in alliance with the University of Puerto Rico and Johns Hopkins University (Protection Project) the first research conducted in Puerto Rico on human trafficking titled "Trafficking in Persons in Puerto Rico: An Invisible Challenge". Luis C. de Baca, Ambassador at Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, supported this unprecedented effort. The investigation was possible thanks to the support of Doral Bank and DACO.
As Founder and President, of an international non-profit organization he thanks you for your undivided support and invites individuals, corporations, and non-profit organizations to build bridges for the safety of children globally.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOLADES:
2002: Hispanic Heritage Award 2005: The International Humanitarian Award 2005: First Latin American to sign a partnership with Habitat for Humanity 2005: Participated in the international event CNN World Report 2005:International Hero in the US State Department Annual Trafficking Persons Report 2005: Participated as an Honorary Speaker at the 24th Arab Children Congress 2006: The Latin Recording Academy “Person of the Year” Award 2006: The Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking awarded RMF with their First Humanitarian Award for their commitment to eradicate human trafficking. 2007: The Chamber of Commerce in Puerto Rico recognized the RMF as the Non- Profit Organization of the year. 2007:Martin received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his musical and humanitarian legacy. 2008: The Board of Directors of The San Sebastian Street Festival awarded Martin with the highest accolade for his artistic and philanthropic career. 2008: Participated as an Honorary Speaker at the at the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking Forum in Vienna. 2009: Participated as a Special Presenter in the Clinton Global Initiative.
