VOFG provides a wonderful opportunity to encourage and inspire young people to communicate their passion for the issues that interest them – the natural world, the right of children, or animals and so on - through the powerful medium of words. It highlights the importance of getting our youth to take an interest in sustainable development and voice their opinions on the most pressing issues and obstacles that threaten and hinder our planet and its inhabitants; and how desperately important it is to protect and restore the natural world for future generations to come.
I strongly support this project and look forward to seeing it develop. I encourage all youth to take up the challenge in this creative field of expression and thought. From the age of ten I have always wanted to write articles and books and poems about the things I care about.
Voice of Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE
Founder - the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
Favourite childhood book? The Story of Doctor Doolitte (and other stories in the Series)
Favourite book right now? The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien
Favourite lesson at school? English Literature.
Favourite animal/lifeform? Dog.
Favourite hero/heroine? Winston Churchill.
Jane Goodall is the world’s best-known female scientist. She started studying chimpanzees in 1960 in Gombe Tanzania, where research continues today. The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) was founded in 1977 and there are now JGI offices in 27 counties. In 1991 she formed Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, a programme that empowers young people of all ages to undertake projects for their local community, for animals and for the environment, and is now active in more than 60 countries. In 1994 Jane formed TACARE (Take Care) which is a community-centred conservation and development programme which partners with communities around Gombe to create sustainable livelihoods while promoting conservation goals.
Dr Goodall’s numerous awards and honorary degrees include France’s Order of the Legion d’Honneur, the Medal of Tanzania and Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize. In 2002 Jane was appointed to serve as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and in 2003 she was named a Dame of the British Empire. She is author of many books and has featured in many films and documentaries around the world.