Osvaldo Laport - Goodwill Ambassador Fact Sheet

Uruguayan actor Osvaldo Laport first collaborated with UNHCR in 2004, when he launched his men's fragrance, Tiempo, and donated a percentage of the sales to the refugee agency. "In life there is a time for everything, and I hope it is the time for many of us to search for peace," he said at the time.

Later that year, the soap star appeared for free in an award-winning television spot marking World Refugee Day. The public awareness video for UNHCR was later broadcast numerous times for free in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

Laport continued to promote the work of UNHCR during public appearances and press conferences. In March 2005, he drew attention to refugee women living in Argentina, where he now lives.

The actor visited small businesses in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, run by female refugees from Colombia and Peru. Read the web story here. He also attended an International Women's Day (March 8) event organized by UNHCR and local institutions.

The following month he met refugees from Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Peru, Colombia and Afghanistan during a widely covered visit to Santiago in Chile, where his soap opera "Brujas" is a big hit.

Laport again took part in activities for World Refugee Day in 2005, including a radio spot and a gathering in Buenos Aires of refugees from around 20 different countries.

In October 2005, Laport was a guest on soccer great Diego Maradona's popular show, La Noche del 10. He took the opportunity to highlight the work of UNHCR and the refugee issue.

UNHCR continued to benefit from Laport's time and generosity in 2006. In April that year he attended a polo tournament on the outskirts of Buenos Aires organized by UNHCR to raise awareness about refugees among athletes and the private sector.

In June 2006, he donated a pair of boxing gloves to a UNHCR online celebrity auction. Laport used the gloves when playing his popular television character, Guevara, on the television series "Campeones" He also donated a white suit worn by another of his characters for a second UNHCR auction.

And three months later in September, he accompanied a group of refugees from Latin American, Asian and African countries when they handed a petition to a top parliamentary official asking the Argentine Congress to move ahead with a draft refugee law approved in 2005 by the upper chamber.

Laport was inducted as Goodwill Ambassador during a ceremony in Buenos Aires on October 10, 2006.

The actor took part in several activities in Argentina and Uruguay to mark World Refugee Day 2007, his first as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. On June 18, he presented a commemorative concert at the Solis Theatre in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay.

He also met with refugees from Cameroon, Colombia, Nigeria and Peru. Two days later, on World Refugee Day itself, he took part in a tree-planting ceremony in Buenos Aires. A mention of World Refugee Day was written into the script of the TV soap "Son de Fierro," which Laport is starring in.

UNHCR Geneva
July 2007