UNICEF appoints Ahmed Helmy as Regional Ambassador for the Middle East, North Africa

CAIRO - 7 June 2021: UNICEF chose Egyptian megastar Ahmed Helmy to serve as Regional Ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa.

“I am truly excited about this new role, I am delighted to continue to work with UNICEF to advocate for children’s rights across the region” said Helmy during the ceremony tailor made to announce his appointment as regional ambassador which was held through online video on June 6.

In 2017 Helmy was chosen to serve as UNICEF Ambassador in Egypt and has participated in multiple events to advocate for child protection and empowerment.

Ahmed Helmy, a one of a kind artistic phenomenon and an Egyptian multi-talented artist, he is an actor, film producer, television presenter, writer, jury member at a talent show, UN ambassador and an engineer. 

Helmy was born in Banha, Egypt in 1969.

After he graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, he joined the High Institute of Theatre Arts andgraduated in 1993. 

In the same year, Helmy started his career as a TV presenter of the famous children's program "Le'bEyal". 

The program gave Helmy the chance to shine as a comedian, who has an exceptionally good sense of humour. 

The success of the program drove acclaimed Egyptian director Sherif Arafa to give Helmy the chance to make his first big screen appearance, co-starring late famed comedian Alaa Waley el-Din in his first leading role in "Aboud Ala El-Hodoud" (Abboud on the Borders). 

"Aboud Ala El-Hodoud" achieved great success, putting Helmy on the right track. After "Aboud AlaEl Hodoud", Helmy performed significant roles in films such as "Omar 2000" , "El-Nazer" (The Headmaster) ,"El Selem Wel Tho'ban" (Snakes And Ladders), "55 Ess'af", "Leh Khaletny Ahebbak" (Why Did You Make Me Fall in Love with You?), and "Rehlet Hob" ( Love's Journey). 

The Year 2003 witnessed a turning point in Helmy’scareer as he performed the role of Amr in the successful socio-romantic movie "Sahar el-Lialy" (Sleepless Nights) which hosted a notable cast of actors and actresses, including Sherif Moneer, Khaled Aboul Naga, Fathy Abdel Wahab, Mona Zaki, Hanan Turk, Ola Ghanem, and Gehan Fadel.

Helmy's first leading role came in the same year with "Mido Mashakel" (Mido the Troublemaker) which achieved great success, establishing Helmy as a box office star. 

Helmy topped the Egyptian box office in terms of revenues, with his movies "Keda Reda" (It is Ok), "Zaki Chan", "Ga'alatny Mogreman" (She Made Me a Criminal), "Asf ala El-Ezaag" (Sorry for the inconvenience) and "Laaf w Dawaran" (Beating around the Bush). 

Moreover, Helmy was a jury member in the third season of "Arabs Got Talent". He joined Lebanese singer Najwa Karam, Lebanese journalist Ali Jaber, and Saudi comedian Nasser al-Qasabi. MBC confirmed that Helmy will be a jury member in the show's fifth season. 

Helmy is married to famed Egyptian actress Mona Zaki and they have one daughter, Lili and two sons, Selim and Younis. 

Helmy and Zaki make an adorable celebrity couple and the majority of their fans look up to them. 

In 2014, Helmy was diagnosed with cancer and was completely cured by removing the tumour from a muscle in his back.

Helmy has previously cooperated with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to promote for the Food for Education project.

Additionally, Helmy collaborated with UNICEF in the #FightUnfair social media campaign launched in December 2015 to shed the light on the challenges facing children and young adults in Egypt. 

The campaign tackled pressing issues like malnutrition, child labor and poverty. 

Helmy focused in the campaign on children living in extreme poverty especially in rural Upper Egypt.

Both Helmy and Zaki were appointed as UNICEF Egypt Ambassadors; both were featured in two short videos promoting for ending violent disciplinary practices. 

Helmy and Zaki participated in two videos that focused on positive parenting, within the framework of the National Multimedia Campaign to End Violence against Children in partnership with The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) and supported by the European Union (EU).

In June 2017, Helmy participated at the global Super Dads initiative with a social media post on Father’s Day as part of UNICEF's #EarlyMomentsMatter(ECD) campaign, focusing on the importance of good parenting and good nutrition for the healthy development of the brains of babies and young children. 

Later in the same year, Helmy starred in a PSA to highlight parents' critical role in children's early development as part of (ECD) campaign. The PSA was co-developed and written by Helmy and the award-winning advertising director Mohamed el-Zayat.

Head of Cultural Production Affairs, and General Supervisor of the Artistic Creativity Center, Veteran Egyptian director Khaled Galal, honored Helmy on September, 2020 at the Artistic Creativity Center of the Egyptian Opera House.

Khaled Galal, director of "Cinema Masr" play , gave a certificate of appreciation signed by all the actors of the show and bearing the title "To Those Who Live to Last ", to Helmy, after he watched  the theatrical show "Cinema Masr".