Dr. Jane Goodall
Famed environmentalist and researcher Dr. Jane Goodall will deliver an opening keynote presentation at Kidscreen Summit Virtual on February 8, 2021, the organizers announced.
Dr. Goodall has worked with millions of young people around the world, inspiring them to take action in their communities through the Jane Goodall Institute and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. Recognized for her tireless and vital conservation efforts, she spreads her message through optimism. At Kidscreen Summit, Dr. Goodall will share her unique experience, and explore the role the kids entertainment industry can play in helping children develop a lifelong love of the natural world.
In July 1960, at the age of 26, Dr. Goodall travelled from England to Gombe, Tanzania and ventured into the little-known world of wild chimpanzees. Equipped with little more than a notebook, binoculars and her fascination with wildlife, she braved a realm of unknowns to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. In her landmark study, Dr. Goodall immersed herself in the chimpanzees’ habitat rather than observing from a distance. Her discovery in 1960 that they make and use tools rocked the scientific world.
In 1977, she established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) to advance her work around the world and for generations to come. JGI continues the field research at Gombe and builds on Dr. Goodall’s innovative approach to conservation, which recognizes the central role that people play in the well-being of animals and the environment. In 1991, she founded Roots & Shoots, a global program that empowers young people in almost 60 countries to act as informed conservation leaders.
Through more than 60 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Goodall has not only shown us the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction; she has also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environment. Today she continues to speak about the threats facing chimpanzees, environmental crises and her reasons for hope. She emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living things and the collective power of individual action.