UNITED NATIONS, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) named the winner of a singing contest called "Arab Idol" as the first youth ambassador of UNRWA for Palestine Refugees, a UN spokesman said.
Filippo Grandi, the Commissioner General of the UNRWA, picked 23-year-old Mohammad Assaf as the regional youth ambassador tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, the deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey told reporters at a daily news briefing.
"This follows Mohammad winning the Arab Idol crown and reflects his personal commitment to Palestinian refugees and to the Relief and Works Agency," the spokesman said.
More than 40 percent of the 5.3 million Palestinian refugees that UNRWA aids are youths between the ages of 15 and 30, according to UN figures.
Assaf was born in Libya to Palestine refugee parents and was largely raised in the Khan Younis camp on the Gaza Strip. He became famous after he joined the Arab Idol program, which is similar to the famous American Idol, where young singers from all over the world race for a top prize.
Assaf began to sing at 11 years old and his songs talk about the Palestinian struggle, their right to return and their right to live freely and independently.
Chengguan, sometimes criticized for brutal force burdened by reputation
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