Antonio Banderas's off-screen role (From Runcorn and Widnes World)

Antonio Banderas's off-screen role

11:57am Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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Antonio Banderas has been named a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the fight against poverty.

The Spanish actor will set his sights on the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight globally agreed targets that seek to halve world poverty by 2015, in his new role as an advocate for the poor.

"Poverty robs us of our potential as a people, preventing us from being all that we can be," Antonio said in a statement.

"This is why it is so important to mobilise all of our efforts to defeat it, especially if today we have the knowledge, the tools and the resources to do it," he added.

Antonio, who is about to be heard again voicing the character of Puss In Boots in Shrek Forever After, said he will work to spur action at all levels of society with a particular focus on Africa and Latin America.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said she looks forward to the star raising awareness globally on issues related to combating poverty.

"UNDP is pleased to have Antonio join our group of Goodwill Ambassadors," she said. "His proven commitment to the causes of the less fortunate makes him an ideal advocate for our work."