Some of you may have seen my previous article in Her Campus, advertising Ape Alliance’s recent panel discussion on the issue of Climate Change. If your answer to this is “Yes,” then great. If it’s “No,” then even better, because we’ve got another event, and this one should be a real winner!
For those of you who haven’t heard of Ape Alliance, it’s a coalition of organisations and individuals all committed to the protection of Apes and their habitats, and the prevention of their exploitation, through deforestation, the pet trade, and the bush meat market. Ape Alliance provides them with a means to do this through campaigning and publication.
As a 21st Century society, it’s impossible to ignore the impact that human activity is having on the world we live in, and the animals that inhabit it with us. Deforestation, climate change, over fishing, pollution, extinction; these are topics that are constantly in the media and are increasingly making their way into the minds of both the public and governments around the world. But sometimes these problems seem so huge, so overwhelming, that as an individual it can be hard to see how you can make a difference. Will turning off the water whilst brushing my teeth really save the world?
(Photo credit: www.listal.com)
Individuals can make a difference however, and the biggest changes happen when individuals come together with a shared voice, to increase awareness and put pressure on those with the power to enforce positive changes on the topics mentioned above. What we need, therefore, are events that can bring together not only those people already involved, and active, in environmental issues, but also those people who can bring a new voice and add it to the growing crowd…
Blimey, all got a bit serious there didn’t it… But it’s a serious issue, and what we need is a seriously good event to get that issue across. Luckily, I think we might just have it – an evening of film and music, both powerful means of bringing together people from all walks of life!
Ape Alliance is proud to announce that, in celebration of its 20th Anniversary, it will be screening one of the most important and wide-reaching conservation films of all time: “Gorillas in the Mist.” The film starts Sigourney Weaver as Dr Dian Fossey, who dedicated 20 years of her life to the protection of the last remaining Rwandan mountain gorillas from extinction, and whose shocking murder in 1985 caused a sudden and important increase in efforts to save these incredible creatures. This year it is expected that the census will show yet another slight increase in their population, thanks to the tireless work of people from across the world, many of whom were no doubt inspired in part by Dian’s work.
There will also be an introduction from Ian Redmond OBE, who founded Ape Alliance in 1996, and who is renowned for his tropical conservation work with apes and elephants for more than 30 years. Ian was lucky enough to work as Dian’s research assistant early in his career, and also served to advise the making of the film, and I for one will be very interested to hear his thoughts on Dian’s life and the film’s depiction of it.
(Photo credit: scienceheathen.com)
And now for one last added morsel of goodness! We are also very excited to announce that the incredible Fantasy Orchestra will be playing with us with their own take on a rainforest theme. For those who haven’t seen them before, the Fantasy Orchestra are a not-for-profit community orchestra based both here in Bristol, and also in Paris (ooh, continental eh!?). It’s also worth mentioning that they’re b****y brilliant, I saw them play at a Bowie tribute night at the Trinity Centre a few months ago and it was an absolute ball! They’re often playing at events and festivals in the local area, and I highly recommend you go see them if you can.
All in all it’s shaping up to be a pretty good sounding evening, and it would be absolutely great to see some of you there. If you’ve got this far and you’re still interested, then here’s all the details you need to know…
The event is taking place on Thursday 28th April at 6.30pm, in the Winston Theatre, inside the Bristol University Students Union building. As always, please try and turn up a little early if you can so that we can get people seated and etc etc before everything kicks off.
Tickets for the event are £4 for students, and £6 for anyone else, and can be brought online from www.4apes.com/events
If you’d like to find out a little more about Ape Alliance then please visit the website, www.4apes.com, and come and find us on Facebook by simply typing in Ape Alliance. And if you’d like to see some of the lovely people at the Fantasy Orchestra doing their thing then you can visit their website, www.fantasyorchestra.org, or head over to their Facebook page, “The Fantasy Orchestra – Bristol.”
Again, it would be brilliant to see as many of you there as possible. If it isn’t your thing, or you can’t make it, but you know someone who might, then let them know! Ape Alliance is a charity and so events like this make a big difference – we really appreciate those who turn up and show their support.