Franca Sozzani has always been one of my favourite editors. Like Anna Wintour, her work goes beyond what she does for the magazine. Over the past year, for example, she's addressed the body image issue at a talk at Harvard University and most notably, she's brought the fashion industry in Africa into the public consciousness.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Vogue Italia editor has been asked to become the first Goodwill Ambassador of 'Fashion 4 Development', a new United Nations initiative that aims to encourage fashion leaders to work on sustainable development initiatives.

According to WWD, the role is part of a two-year platform that aims to help the United Nations meet their Millennium Development Goals. On Thursday Sozzani - who dedicated the June issue of L'Uomo Vogue to the topic of 'Rebranding Africa' - attended a meeting at the UN's Manhattan headquarters to discuss how designers and retailers can get on board to support the cause.