Jane Goodall

Sowing the Seeds of Hope: An Evening with Dr. Jane Goodall

More than 50 years ago, a young Jane Goodall first set foot in what is today Tanzania’s Gombe National Park. Little did she know at the time that she was about to embark on a groundbreaking chimpanzee behavioral study that would rock the scientific community and redefine our understanding of animals and, ultimately, ourselves. Likewise, she probably never imaged that she would one day leave Gombe and begin a quest to empower others to make the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment we all share.

In her speech, Sowing the Seeds of Hope, Dr. Goodall will first bring her audience into the world of the Gombe chimpanzees - from her early observations and experiences to the latest news and stories from the field.

Dr. Goodall will also share information about the work of the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues her pioneering research and celebrates its 36th anniversary this year. Today, the Institute is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. It also is widely recognized for establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, the Institute’s global environmental and humanitarian youth program.

In Sowing the Seeds of Hope, Dr. Goodall will provide insight into the person behind the globetrotting international icon: a UN Messenger of Peace, Dame of the British Empire, and the subject of countless articles and television programs around the world. She will also discuss the current threats facing the planet and her reasons for hope in these complex times, encouraging everyone in the audience to do their part to make a positive difference each and every day.

For more information, please visit www.janegoodall.org.

Tireless Environmental Advocate

As Jane Goodall first surveyed the mountains and valley forests of the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve, she had no idea her coming efforts would redefine the relationship between humans and animals or that this project would continue into the 21st century. Today, Dr. Goodall travels about 300 days a year lecturing, raising money for the Jane Goodall Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, and sowing the seeds of an environmental revolution among children worldwide. Dr. Goodall is also a United Nations Messenger of Peace, a role that complements her work as a tireless advocate for environmental stewardship, personal action and humanitarianism. In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II named Dr. Goodall a Dame of the British Empire (DBE), the equivalent of a knighthood. In January 2006, Dr. Goodall was honored as an Officer of the French Legion of Honor for her work with primates and her extraordinary efforts to encourage positive action around the world as well as the conservation, development and education programs of the Jane Goodall Institute.

Insightful Preservationist

Dr. Jane Goodall’s list of publications is extensive, including two overviews of her work at Gombe — In the Shadow of Man and Through a Window — as well as two autobiographies in letters, the best-selling autobiography Reason for Hope and many children's books. In her newest book is Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink. Dr. Goodall has been the subject of numerous television documentaries and is featured in the large-screen format film, Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees (2002). In 2005 she presented her third Animal Planet TV special, When Animals Talk, which was one of the highest rated Animal Planet specials in that time slot.

An Amazing New Documentary - Jane's Journey

The national premiere of the multi-million dollar cinematic biography Jane's Journey with appearances by Academy Award Winner Angelina Jolie and film star Pierce Brosnan, which took four years to shoot, was released in 2011. This fascinating over-the-shoulder look takes audiences with Goodall during diverse days across three continents, viewing chimpanzees in the jungle and hippos in steamy pools in Tanzania; explosive, calving glaciers in Greenland; and meeting challenged youth on the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation in South Dakota.