Indian composer, Grammy winner and environmentalist Ricky Kej has been appointed as the UNICEF supporter for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Rickey Kej, known for his advocacy for environmental consciousness through music, won the Grammy in 2015 for his album ‘Winds of Samsara-World Music of Environmental Consciousness’. Being appointed the celebrity UNICEF supporter for Telangana and Andhra, Ricky Kej will be using his music to create public awareness for the cause of children’s rights and support programmes of UNICEF across the two Telugu states as well as in Karnataka.
“I am honoured to join UNICEF as a celebrity supporter,” Ricky said. “I shall strive to creatively and artistically communicate children’s issues to inspire authorities, fans, my audience and public to move to action for realising the rights of the children in the three states and in India in general,” Ricky said in an interview to the Times of India.
Ricky, being the UNICEF supporter, will be advocating UNICEF’s cause in creating awareness on children’s rights, especially among his fans and audience in the three states. Ricky Tej joins a long list of many distinguished celebrities including Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore and many others who have been UNICEF supporters in advocating various social causes and promoting awareness in India.
Born in California, Ricky Kej was brought up in Bengaluru. After finishing his course in dentistry, he started pursuing music and went on to be a music composer. His album ‘Shanti Samsara - World Music for Environmental Consciousness’ was launched on November 30, 2015 at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kej has also composed music for a couple of movies in Kannada and is credited for his work on radio and television jingles. He also composed music for the 2011 Cricket World Cup ceremony held in Dhaka.
Rick Kej has been India’s goodwill ambassador for Save the Children’s global campaign, ‘Every Last Child’. In 2016, he was also awarded the Excellence and Leadership award as a global humanitarian artist at the United Nations Headquarters.