Angelina Jolie may be one of the world's most famous stars but she has got "credential as well as celebrity", according to a senior director at a children's charity.
The Special Envoy for the UN Commissioner for Refugees and star of action adventure film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider has a "strong track record of knowing what she's talking about".
Jolie's interest in humanitarian affairs was piqued in 2000 when she went to Cambodia to film Tomb Raider, according to The UN Refugee Agency website.
She was named a Goodwill Ambassador in 2001 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In 2012, High Commissioner Antonio Guterres appointed Jolie as his Special Envoy.
Anita Tiessen, deputy executive director of children's charity Unicef UK, said that while she brings her fame to the summit she also brings experience.
Tiessen talked about the impact of the 2011 film written and directed by Jolie called In the Land of Blood and Honey, which is set during the Bosnian war.
"I think Angelina herself has shown a big commitment to the issue over the last 10 years that she's been an envoy for the issue.
"So, yes, she clearly brings her fame to the issue and so that attracts a lot of media. But I think she's got a strong track record of knowing what she's talking about, of really taking action.
"I was recently in a meeting and the film that she did about rape and abuse during the Bosnian conflict, I heard somebody say very, very powerfully that what that's done is that it's made it possible for people in Bosnia to talk about things that they've been keeping inside for a long, long time, so I think she's got credential as well as celebrity," she said.
Tiessen said she believes the summit is going to be "hugely significant", and said there has been a build-up of about 18 months of work led by Foreign Secretary William Hague.
She also said she thinks the week "will be very, very emotionally charged".
"I've heard children talk about how they've been sexually abused, or how they've been threatened with sexual abuse, and clearly it's a very, very ... it cuts close to the bone."
Share
