'I want my daughter to have the same opportunities as my sons - that's not unreasonable,' - Crystal Awardee David Beckham
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When I was 17 years old, that's when my real journey with UNICEF started. I was in Thailand on tour with Manchester United and I was asked to go to a women's centre.

And at 17 years old, I knew right at that moment that I wanted to be involved in this organisation in the future. Welcome to Radio Davos, the podcast from the World Economic Forum that looks at the biggest challenges and how we might solve them. This week, why was this footballing superstar in Davos? For his extraordinary leadership and humanitarianism in promoting and protecting the rights of the world's most vulnerable children. Please join me in congratulating David Peckham.

David Beckham was at the Forum's annual meeting to receive an award for his work for the rights of children. When I walk into these villages and these children are in completely different situations to what my children are, they have the same smiles.

And that's what inspires me and that's what gives me hope. David Beckham talks to us about the role of men, particularly fathers, in a world where girls often struggle for opportunity. I want my daughter to have exactly the same opportunities as my sons do. And that's not an unreasonable ask. That is a must. Follow Radio Davos wherever you get your podcasts or visit wef.ch slash podcast where you'll also find our sister programmes Meet the Leader and Agenda Dialogues.

I'm Robin Pomeroy at the World Economic Forum. I'm with David Beckham. When you uplift a young girl, you uplift their family, you uplift their communities and it uplifts the world. This is Radio Davos. And it's Beckham who's onside. 1-1. David Beckham rescues England once again. David Beckham will have a go for the air and what a goal.

Beckham strikes for England and they've turned it round. A jam of a goal from the captain. Oh, brilliant goal. Beckham's done it again at Old Chaffin. They're not talking about his hairstyle now. They're talking about this lethal free kick which has given England their third goal of the night.

David Beckham shot to fame in the 1990s playing football for Manchester United and England, and he boosted the game's profile in the USA, playing for LA Galaxy. Off the pitch, he was at the centre of cool Britannia-era glamour, marrying posh spice pop star-turned fashion designer Victoria.

He's a global brand and he has used that fame and influence among other things as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, where his seven fund named after the number he wore on the pitch for Manchester United

works in schools around the world to combat bullying, violence, child marriage and missed education. Beckham, who turns 50 this year, was in Davos to receive a Crystal Award, which the forum bestows on people in arts and entertainment who've gone beyond the day job to help improve the state of the world. Here he is at the Crystal Award ceremony, being introduced by Hilda Schwab, chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

David Peckham receives the 2025 Crystal Award for his extraordinary leadership and humanitarianism in promoting and protecting the rights of the world's most vulnerable children. Please join me in congratulating David Peckham. Good evening, everyone.

Hilde, thank you so much for your warm words and thank you to the World Economic Forum for this award. 2025 marks my 20-year anniversary as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. I never could have imagined the incredible journey we would go on together. I've had the privilege of visiting UNICEF programmes all around the world, meeting children whose courage and resilience is simply remarkable.

I have always believed in the potential of children, that when children are given time, opportunity and encouragement they will reach their full potential. I am proud to be an advocate for children and I am proud to accept this award on behalf of the incredible organisations, especially UNICEF, that have inspired and supported me on my journey.

To work with UNICEF for 20 years has been a privilege. During this time, I've been blessed to watch my own family grow. As a father and as an activist for children's rights, I know how important it is to listen to our children, to hear their stories, to shine a light on their struggles and to fight for their future.

Thank you to the children who have inspired me in this work and thank you to the incredible team at UNICEF who do so much for children everywhere, every day. Thank you again to the World Economic Forum for this incredible award. Have a great night. You can watch that whole award ceremony on our website.

At a time when overseas development is under pressure like never before, and with a rise in online misogyny, we thought it would be interesting to ask David Beckham about his work with UNICEF and his role as a father. He sat down in Davos with my colleague Anna Bruce Lockhart, who began by asking David Beckham how he started working with UNICEF. When I was first asked to be Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF,

in 2005 by Kofi Unnan. It was one of the proudest moments for me because when I was 17 years old, that's when my real journey with UNICEF started. I was in Thailand on tour with Manchester United and I was asked to go to a women's centre

And at 17 years old, I knew right at that moment that I wanted to be involved in this organization in the future. And then I was lucky enough to be made Goodwill Ambassador. All of the causes I'm proud of. You know, I think that we've focused on so many different things over that time. We've been to so many different countries. You know, we've been to Sierra Leone, we've been to Nepal, we've been to China, been to Thailand, we've been to India recently.

and there's so many different situations that I've seen, so many different children that I've met and the children are just inspiring. You know of course there's heartbreaking moments when I go into the villages and meet these young children. I get inspired more than anything. You know I always say that when I walk into these villages and these children are in completely different situations to what my children are, they have the same smiles.

And that's what inspires me and that's what gives me hope. So, you know, we've focused a lot over the last few years, really, on the work that we've been doing with Seven Fund. You know, we created the Seven Fund 10 years ago and we've obviously been able to affect and help so many children around the world, which I'm very proud of.

But we kind of shifted our focus over the last few years on teenage girls and empowering teenage girls, because over that time,

I'd noticed how girls get left behind, how girls get treated differently, how girls get pulled out of their schools and their education and forced into early child marriage. And they miss out on that education. They don't get the same access to health care. And these things are so difficult.

important. So that's what we've been doing for the last few years. Our focus really is on, you know, empowering teenage girls to live to their full potential and have the same opportunities as the boys do. So you're a father of a girl and boys as well. So this difference that you're seeing in the way that boys and girls are treated around the world, do you think that translates into more developed countries as well? Are you seeing that sort of thing? Without a doubt, without a doubt. I've seen it all over the world. You know, it's not just countries that I've visited that don't have the same

lifestyle and the same opportunities as other places around the world. I've seen that in developed countries as well. Like you say, I have four children, three of them are boys, one of them is a girl, and I want my daughter to have exactly the same opportunities as my sons do. And that

It's not an unreasonable ask, that is a must. You know, equality must be the top of the list for leaders, for business builders, for people in business that can make a change. You know, that must be at the top of their list.

And what would you say girls around the world share in terms of the challenges that they face? Because, you know, in a developed world, it may be it's like online harms, it's digital bullying, that kind of thing. Whereas in developing countries, obviously, the needs are much more concrete. What would you say unites girls all over the world in terms of what they're facing?

What unites girls is the opportunity. You know, girls just want the opportunity. You know, I've seen how driven these young girls are, you know, whether it be in Sierra Leone, whether it be in Nepal, whether it be in Thailand, whether it be in China, where girls are not getting the same opportunities, but they want those opportunities. You know, I've always said that when you uplift a young girl, you uplift their family, you uplift their communities and it uplifts the world.

So those are the opportunities girls need to be given. And it's simple as that, you know, being given the opportunity, being given equal rights to education, equal rights to health care. These things are so important. And what would you say is the role of male leaders in this kind of situation? So obviously, at the moment, we're seeing a fairly visible lack of really positive male role models in the world. How important do you think it is to be that kind of positive role model?

Well, in my opinion, I can only speak for myself. It's an easy decision to make. You know, yes, I'm a man.

But do I want my wife to have the same opportunities as me? Absolutely. I'd even go to say I'd want my wife to have a better opportunity than me because girls do get left behind no matter where it is in the world. Girls need to be treated exactly the same. And that's why my focus always and for the last few years has been on empowering young teenage girls, because that is the reality.

girls get left behind and it's simple as that. So yes, we have leaders that have to set the example. Yes, we have business leaders that set the example, but I was lucky. I was brought up in a household where that happened. Not everyone is as lucky as that, but we have a responsibility. It's simple as that. As a role model, you know, and I never like to speak about myself as a role model. I like other people to do it, but as a role model, that is a responsibility.

And do you find that translates into fatherhood as well? Because, you know, obviously you're raising a family in this world with all these headwinds. How do you set an example to your loved ones for how to behave and what to expect in the world and how they should present themselves? Well, I suppose my children are the lucky ones. You know, they've grown up in a household where...

even though I said it in the documentary, we both come from working class backgrounds. You know, Victoria's dad is a hard worker and always has been a hard worker. My mum and dad always been hardworking. So we installed the values that we had growing up into our children. Yes, they have a different life to what we had growing up, but

Speaking for myself and speaking for Victoria, we're able to give our children those values. That's easy. Whether they listen or not, that's a different thing. And most of the time, you know what teenagers are like.

Sometimes you think they're listening, sometimes you think they're not listening, but actually they are. I just did a talk in there where I said, funnily enough, I'm very traditional. I'm very traditional in my values. I believe in eye contact. I believe in shaking hands. I believe in hugging. I believe that opening a door for a woman and letting a woman walk through before you do or standing up at a table and

when a woman leaves the table is the right thing to do. That was how I was brought up and that's what I've done with my children and thankfully they've listened. So as you turn 50 this year, do you have any personal or philanthropic goals you would like to achieve?

Yeah, you know, turning 50, people keep talking about it and it's something I'm looking forward to. I'm very proud of what I've achieved in my career over the years. I'm very proud of where the business is and where Victoria's business is as well and how hard obviously she works. But on my charity work, I want to continue to raise the bar.

It's simple as that. You know, I understand that with my social media following, you know, with the platform that I have, I can make a difference. I can put that to a good cause. You know, with what comes with having the platform that I have comes a huge responsibility. And when you realize that and when you understand that and when you can make that into a good thing, you know, social media can be bad, but social media can also be very positive.

And that's what we've always tried to do. We've tried to always shine a light on situations. You know, it's one of the things that I did with a perinatal nurse in Kharkiv when the conflict started. You know, I handed my Instagram over to her to highlight the incredible work that she was doing, delivering babies through conflict.

And that's the positive things that we can do. You know, I've also given my Instagram over for a day to a young girl who was being bullied in one of the places that we visited in UNICEF. And

It was an incredible moment. So that's what I want to continue to do. It's the thing that I love most. It's the thing that I really focus on more than anything in my life, really, because I know it's the most important. You mentioned online bullying. This is something that seems to be a sort of pervasive and growing threat. At the moment, there don't seem to be huge guardrails in place to kind of protect kids from...

all the harms that are happening online from unknown agents and also their friends. Could you paint a picture of what you see as the problem in terms of who's the most vulnerable and what to do about it? Well, I think all children are vulnerable for that. You know, it doesn't matter what their background is, unfortunately. It doesn't matter what their age is.

And it's not just children. Adults also go through the same thing and it becomes as serious as it is when you're a child. So, you know, there has to be some protection in there. We have to work hard with that. You know, the business leaders and the most intelligent people in business are here in Davos this week. So those are the things that we need to focus on, you know, protecting the future, protecting children from bullying. But unfortunately, that is...

the way of life, and it has to stop. It has to stop. You know, I have young children. I also have children that are 25, and they all go through it. They all get bad things said about them. And fortunately, our children have always been taught to open up, to talk to us. And fortunately, all four of our children open up.

sometimes a little bit too much, but they open up. Not every parent has that and that is the problem. You know, children need to be given the opportunity to be able to talk and to feel that they're in a safe place to be able to talk. So are there any particular focuses, philanthropic focuses, that you're going to be devoting your attention to in the near future? Empowering young people. That's

The thing that I have always focused on, protection of children, not just girls. Our focus is always on children in general. So that is the one thing that we will always champion for because it's the most important thing. It's an obvious thing to say, but they're our future.

and we need to protect them as much as we can. And if that's empowering them to make a difference, then that's where we start. And what keeps you personally motivated to keep advocating for kids' rights day after day?

The children. It's simple as that. I know it's an obvious answer, but it's the children that I meet and it's the children that I've met over the last 20, 25 years that motivate me. Every day, my children motivate me and my wife motivates me. My team around me motivate me. But the biggest thing is the kids. It's simple as that.

David Beckham, you can watch him collect his Crystal Award alongside fellow laureates, the fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and architect Riken Yamamoto on our website.

Please follow Radio Davos wherever you get your podcasts. And please, if you have a moment, leave us a rating or review on the app you're using to listen to this. Find all our podcasts, including Meet the Leader and Agenda Dialogues at wef.ch slash podcasts. This episode of Radio Davos was written and presented by me, Robin Pomeroy, with reporting by Anna Bruce Lockhart. Editing was by Gerry Johansson and studio production by Taz Kelleher. We'll be back next week. But for now, thanks to you for listening and goodbye.