The Spanish navigator and explorer Kitín Muñoz was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in April 1997, in light of his commitment to promoting indigenous cultures, and masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.
Born in 1954 in the middle of the Moroccan Sahara from a military father, Kitín Muñoz developed a passion for exploration. At the age of 26, he gained worldwide recognition for his Uru Expedition when he joined French Polynesia from Peru, with a 20-meters long raft, in order to demonstrate than Polynesia could have been populated from the American continent. Other ocean raft crossings attempts followed, but also a descent of the Nil in a canoe, a crossing of the Mediterranean sea on a sailboard or trips to the North Pole. He is a former elite member of the Spanish Army and he is honorary consul of Spain in Morocco, where he lives.
Ecologist and humanitarian, Kitín Muñoz is a researcher in history and ethnology. He draws international attention to the dangers of environmental destruction and how "progress" is imposed on indigenous cultures and their ways of life.
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