Sabrina Dhowre Elba is an actress, activist and model. She was appointed a United Nations’ Goodwill Ambassador for IFAD in April 2020. Born in Canada, of Somali descent, Elba has been featured on the cover of British Vogue, Sunday Times Style and Harrods Magazine, and has been a guest presenter for ITV’s Good Morning Britain. She is passionate about gender equality and promoting the empowerment of rural women and girls worldwide. She has also recently begun work with the First Lady of Sierra Leone on issues related to violence against women in the country. She also works with a variety of civil society organizations, including Conservation International, on environmental issues.
Idris Elba is an award-winning actor, producer, director and humanitarian who has secured his reputation as one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. Born and raised in the United Kingdom to a Sierra Leonean father and Ghanaian mother, Elba started his career on the small screen in some of the UK’s top-rated shows. Soon, Elba landed the role of Stringer Bell in HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire, which garnered an NAACP Image Award nomination. In 2010, Elba landed the title role on the BBC mini-series Luther, earning him a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) Award, as well as four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Elba’s film career began in 2007 with American Gangster. He later went on to star in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Beasts of No Nation, earning a Golden Globe Award for Mandela and a SAG Award for Beasts. Elba was recently appointed UN Goodwill Ambassador for IFAD in April 2020. As an IFAD Goodwill Ambassador, Idris focuses on issues related to food security, climate change and environmental conservation.