PERFECT AMBASSADORS
T H E N E X T GEN ER AT ION
WILL TURN TH E SH I P A ROU N D Beloved Swed ish si nger a nd song w r iter Ma r ti n Sten ma rck ’s com m itment to w i ld l i fe a nd env iron menta l issues is shapi ng t he nex t generation of pla net heroes a round t he fa m i ly’s d i n ner table. He has been pa r t of The Per fect World tea m si nce 2014 as compère for t he orga n ization’s w i ld l i fe suppor t ga las, a nd is a tr ue role model when it comes to spread i ng k nowledge a nd awa reness for a better world.
BY DANIEL WILKE
PHOTO: LELLE SPARRINGSJÖ
As a father of three, the second oldest of twelve siblings, and a sponsor of eight children in Uganda through UNICEF, Martin Stenmarck is used to helping others. He also regularly receives inquiries from charitable organizations, asking if he wants to participate in and support their work. Martin says that he’s the kind of person who’s happy to help, but it’s also important for him that his contribution really makes a difference. “Instinctively, I want to say yes to everything, but there’s also a danger in doing that. It’s important that it works out and I can really get involved. I don’t just want to be in a photo,” says Martin. Martin has been an ambassador for The Perfect World Foundation since 2014. It all started with a meeting at a café in Stockholm, Sweden. Over a cup of coffee he met The Perfect World’s founders Ragnhild and Lars Jacobsson for the first time, who wanted to know if he would like to help support the organization’s efforts to save the rhino. “When I was a child, my grandfather worked in Kenya. He brought home drawings and stories of rhinos. It’s an animal I’m especially passionate about,” explains Martin. Ragnhild and Lars had decided to arrange Scandinavia’s first fundraising gala for wildlife and the environment, and hoped that Martin would agree to compère the event. Martin could feel that their commitment was genuine and was happy to be asked to get involved and inspire others through something he enjoys – entertaining. 76
“Few people understand how much hard work is involved in arranging a charity event. Before the first gala, I don’t think even Ragnhild and Lars knew what they were getting themselves into. But they were willing to work hard for their cause, and I decided to support them as much as I could, there and then,” Martin says. Since the first charity gala, Martin has assisted the organization as compère at a total of four fundraising events, and by doing so he has helped to raise several million dollars to benefit wildlife and the environment. In 2015, Martin was given the opportunity to visit a rhino breeding project in Zimbabwe, where he had the honour, on behalf of The Perfect World Foundation, of handing over a cheque for 50,000 dollars to support the project’s work. “The money was intended to help keep the project’s rhinos safe from poachers, among other things. It was absolutely fantastic to be there and see what all our hard work had contributed to. And this was the first time I got to meet a rhino, it was absolutely magical! I had no idea they’re so soft,” Martin says. The visit to Zimbabwe was a new awakening for Martin. He says that when his youngest daughter has turned eight, he plans to take the whole family back to the rhino project in Zimbabwe to share with them what he experienced. Until then, Martin keeps the subject of the plight of wildlife alive at home by talking about it at the dinner table. “The children are our future and us adults, and me as a parent,
