1.Discover more about the person's work and why is the person passionate about his/her work.
2.Write an actionable problem statement and objectives to help design a solution.
Jane Goodall became an activist because of her passion for animals. Even though she had little formal training, what motivated her was getting the chance to work with living animals up close. Someone who was a great motivation for Goodall was Dr. Louis Leakey.
In 1957, Jane’s friends encouraged her to contact the famous paleontologist, Louis Leakey. Jane was eager to discuss animals with Leakey, who was then curator of the Coryndon Museum in Nairobi. Leakey, who believed that studying other primates would help scientists to understand early hominid societies, saw in Jane someone with the right personality to begin a long term study.
He hired her first as a secretary for his dig at Olduvai Gorge. Leakey then asked her to return to England to study primate anatomy and behavior while he raised funds for the proposed field study. On July 14, 1960, Jane Goodall began setting up her camp at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Leakey later arranged for Jane to earn her Ph.D. in ethology from Cambridge University. She was one of only eight people ever to have a doctoral dissertation accepted by Cambridge without first having an undergraduate degree.
Jane Goodall is a primatologist and anthropologist. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is most known for her 60-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees since her research in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania in 1960.
She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots programme, and she has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. She has served on the board of the Nonhuman Rights Project since its founding in 1996. In April 2002, she was named a UN Messenger of Peace. Goodall is also honorary member of the World Future Council.
Research at Gombe Stream National Park
Goodall is best known for her study of chimpanzee social and family life. She began studying the Kasakela chimpanzee community in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, in 1960.
Dr. Jane Goodall’s discoveries in Gombe and worldwide influence inspire generations across fields, breaking barriers in science, and beyond. Dr. Goodall’s example and story spurred a global movement, encouraging scientific expansion and an important increase in the number of women in STEM and related fields. Dr. Goodall’s living legacy continues to influence millions of individuals, institutions, and organizations.
Jane Goodall Institute
In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which supports the Gombe research, and she is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. With nineteen offices around the world, the JGI is widely recognised for community-centred conservation and development programs in Africa.
The Jane Goodall Institute promotes understanding and protection of great apes and their habitat and builds on the legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall, the founder, to inspire individual action by young people of all ages to help animals, other people and to protect the world we all share.
Activism
In 1986, Goodall became a full-time activist after attending a conference on chimp behavior, which included a session on conservation. Appalled at the level of destruction of the chimpanzees’ habitat due to deforestation, and their rapidly decreasing population, she undertook her mission to preserve their habitat, which continues today.
“I WENT TO THAT CONFERENCE AS A SCIENTIST PLANNING TO CARRY ON, AND I LEFT AS AN ACTIVIST. I DIDN’T MAKE A DECISION, I JUST WAS A DIFFERENT PERSON.”
From living virtually alone in the forest, studying and observing Chimpanzees during her days in Gombe, she is now a committed activist who is on the road 300 days a year in hopes of educating the public on the importance of conservation.
“THE LEAST I CAN DO IS SPEAK OUT FOR THE HUNDREDS OF CHIMPANZEES WHO, RIGHT NOW, SIT HUNCHED, MISERABLE AND WITHOUT HOPE, STARING OUT WITH DEAD EYES FROM THEIR METAL PRISONS. THEY CANNOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.”
Former president of Advocates for Animals, an organisation that campaigns against the use of animals in medical research, zoos, farming and sport.
Patron of AUS animal protection group Voiceless, the animal protection institute
Endorsed the Forests New Declaration.
Patron of population concern charity Population Matters.
Ambassador for Disneynature.
Patron of Australian animal protection institute, Voiceless (2011)
Challenger for the Engage in Conservation Challenge with the DO School (2012)
Wrote to Air France executives to critic the airline’s continued transport of monkeys to laboratories (2013)
Wrote to the National Institutes of Health to critic the conducting of maternal deprivation experiments on baby monkeys in NIH laboratories (2014)
Signed a letter to the Members of Parliament in 2015 in opposition of Conservative prime minister David Cameron’s plan to amend the Fox Hunting Act 2004 (2015)
Honoured for her contributions to science with a bronze sculpture in midtown Manhattan alongside nine other women, part of the "Statues for Equality" project. (2019)
Continuing her organization's work on the environment, Goodall vowed to plant 5 million trees, part of the 1 trillion tree initiative founded by the World Economic Forum. (2020)
During Jane’s Childhood, she was inspired by the books she read about animals in Africa, which driven her curiosity and determination to study there.
Jane believes that positive change begins with the kids-
Jane believes that kids represent the future of our world, so inspiring them to make a difference in the world is incredibly important.
Through her Roots & Shoots which recognizes the power of youth, Jane has worked to grow enthusiastic leaders and creators. The program provides guidance to kids as well as resources for designing and implementing their own projects.
She hopes to inspire new generations in making their world a better place.
She emphasizes the power of young people to change this fact. Through small actions, each of us can have a real impact. If our youth are engaged and passionate, the future of our planet will be bright.
“How is it possible that the most intellectual creature that has ever walked on planet Earth is destroying it so quickly?”
SOLUTION :
Getting to know more about her and find out what she loves and what she believes in would help us make the perfect gift for her that would make her happy and proud of us.
ACTIONABLE PROBLEM STATEMENT :
Our gift for Jane would be by giving awareness to others by following her footsteps to create a better place where nature and humans can live together by spreading her message through social media as a platform.