A new book on celebrities and international affairs has just been released, called Celebrity Diplomacy
. In it, author Andrew Cooper discusses how the growing trend of celebrity diplomats has changed and molded the very art of diplomacy itself, and also acts as a guide for future celebrities looking to go into a more humanitarian field during or after their careers. While Angelina Jolie and Bono may get a lot of attention now for their meetings with Congress and the UN for their causes, only two women can be traced back to the firm roots of celebrity diplomats: Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana. At least that's how it is according to Cooper. The book looks like it's a very fascinating read, especially considering the fact that the growing number of celebrity endorsements for humanitarian aid and calls to awareness are really, literally changing the art of diplomacy for anyone involved, well-known or not. You can read more about the book here, if you're interested.
There's also another book on humanitarian work that I've been thinking over for a while, but this one applies more to you and me directly. It's called Volunteer: A Traveler's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World, and it's a more down-to-earth and more easily attainable way to help people around the world. Most people want to travel and explore the world, and this book can help you turn an ordinary sightseeing trip into a meaningful and useful journey to people in need and spiritual growth. While the average person like you and me would love to do what the celebrities listed above do, traveling the world and raising awareness and helping people become self-sufficient, it's nearly impossible for most of us to get that sort of a job through UNICEF or the UN -- at least, not without a highly specialized degree and years of experience already under your belt. Thankfully, though, we have the Internet and tons of websites dedicated to people just like us who just want to help, no questions asked. Just do a search for "volunteer" and you're hit with hundreds of websites for anything from local volunteering to translating. If you know where you'd like to go, though, or know that you would like to help the elderly, or children, or women, or some other specific group of people, then VolunteerAbroad.com might be the right choice for you. You can search by continent, country, region, and even by what sort of services you have to offer, and they will show you whatever is available at the time, and how long it will last. You can even specify in your search how long you'd like to volunteer, from a week to two years! So if you want to get out there and do some good face to face, it is possible for you.
As many of you might know by now, last week José Luis de Vilallonga died at age 83. Jose was known in the Audrey Hepburn world as the man who played the dashing Brazilian boyfriend of Holly Golightly, José da Silva Pereira. José was a man of many talents, though, as he was also an author and a highly respected aristocrat, writing as a journalist and publishing the official biography of King Juan Carlos of Spain. You can read more about José's fascinating life here.
The second article I'd like to share is a little old as well (for some reason I just sat on it instead of posting it right away), but still very pertinent, I think. You'd have to live under a rock on the moon to have not heard about a certain socialite's stint in jail, a young woman with the initials P.H. I don't want to put her name here because I really don't want to. You know who I'm talking about and that's all that matters. Anyway, after being released from jail and loudly proclaiming that she was a changed woman and would now use her status as a so-called icon to help others, P.H. has done little, if anything, towards that goal. MSNBC, however, won't let P.H. forget her promise and even published an article showing her how to go about using her celebrity towards a better cause. Their golden example? None other than Audrey Hepburn. Even if you can't stand P.H., please read the article, if just to get yourself motivated or to remind yourself of why you love Audrey. As if you needed reminders! It's a wonderful article and while being aimed at a certain heiress, really applies to any young woman who needs a little help shaking off the silliness and immaturity and learning to really think beyond yourself, which will finally make you useful towards other people. "Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others."
Us Weekly's website has a new article up about the celebrities of today channeling the stars of yesterday. Thankfully, there's no mention of Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears here! And, not surprisingly, Natalie Portman is considered yet again to be our generation's answer to Audrey Hepburn, not just for her looks, but for her humanitarian work helping third world women with FINCA International. Don't forget the fact that Natalie donned the most famous little black dress in the world (left) before it was sold at auction, too.
