Xinhua News Agency, New York, Dec. 6 (Reporter Xu Xiaolei Ma Jianguo) The United Nations Correspondents Association held its annual grand award dinner in Manhattan, New York on the evening of the 5th. About 600 people attended the dinner, including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN officials, diplomatic envoys of countries to the United Nations, permanent journalists to the United Nations and representatives from all walks of life. This year's Global Advocate Award was jointly won by the two people, becoming the biggest highlight of the dinner on the day.

The UN Correspondents Association was founded in 1948 and its members are journalists based at the UN headquarters in New York for news organizations around the world. The Association presents annual awards to outstanding member journalists and those who have made important contributions to the cause of the United Nations.

In the evening, UNPA presented its Global Advocate of the Year award to Hollywood actor, director and producer Adrian Grenier in recognition of his efforts to protect the Marine environment and Marine life.

In his acceptance speech, Grenier said that disposable plastic products seriously pollute the Marine environment and even pose a threat to the survival of Marine life. He called on people to follow the concept of sustainable development, stop using disposable plastic products and reduce plastic waste.

Grenier was involved in the production of the documentary 52 about the living conditions of the "loneliest whale". He co-founded the Lonely Whale Foundation in 2015 and was named a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2017.

British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Clooney was also named Global Advocate of the Year. Through her work with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, the UN Security Council mandated the panel to investigate crimes committed by the extremist group Islamic State. It is reported that the investigation will be officially launched in early 2019.

At the dinner, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the 73rd UN General Assembly Patricia Espinosa delivered speeches respectively, paying tribute to the noble but dangerous profession of journalists.

On the evening of the dinner, the UN Journalists Association also presented awards to journalists who had won the 2018 Journalism Awards. The dinner also aired a sitcom written, directed and acted by the UN journalists and guest starred by ambassadors from many countries.

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