Fwd: [GAPNews] From OFI: Orangutan Awareness Week

[Guest guest]

From the Orangutan Foundation International:

 

Dear Friends of the Orangutan,

Today marks the start of International Orangutan Awareness Week (November

4-11, 2000). This is the fifth year the Orangutan Foundation International

(OFI) has been promoting IOAW in order to increase awareness about the red

ape and its current plight. Each year the list of people who express an

interest in participating keeps growing. We hope that you, in some way, will

get involved this week in advancing a further understanding among your peers

and the general public about orangutans and how their populations are being

threatened by habitat destruction and poaching.

 

A number of people around the world have already taken steps to put on an

event- such as setting up displays in libraries, staffing outreach tables at

zoos, giving lectures or slide shows at schools, and even raising funds for

organizations working to help orangutans. There is still time for you to do

something this week or next weekend (November 11) even if you haven't

started

preparing. OFI can help you by providing some downloadable ideas and

information from our website (www.orangutan.org). Go to the Orangutan

Education and Action Network section. Also feel free to research other areas

of the website (and other linked sites) for relevant information about

orangutans and current issues impacting them. You should also try to get a

few friends to work with you if you plan to do an outreach event at your

school (for students and teachers) or at a public location (mall, library,

or

zoo). Obviously, you will need to obtain permission from the venue

authority

so that should be done as soon as possible. If you need images for an IOAW

presentation, feel free to download them from our website. We also have some

jpeg composite images that can be emailed to you for you to print out on

photo quality paper. We also have a CD of images that can be mailed to you.

 

OFI would like to hear from you if you plan to do something, no matter how

modest, during IOAW-5. Also, please send us a brief story with one or two

photos about how your event went and we will try to publish some of these on

our website later this month.

 

On behalf of the Orangutan Foundation International, thank you for your

interest and concern regarding the orangutan and its rain forest habitat.

Your efforts can make a difference in motivating other people to become

aware

and hopefully take action, which will have a positive impact on orangutan

survival.

 

Regards,

 

Gary Shapiro, Ph.D.

Vice President

Orangutan Foundation International

822 S. Wellesley Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90049

(310) 207-1655; fax: (310) 207-1556

email: ofi; OFI: ofioffice

web: http://www.orangutan.org