Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope (2016)
To fully integrate the unique HKU Common Core course “CCGL9052: Some We Love, Some We Eat: HumanAnimal Relationships in the Global Marketplace” (developed in 2015) with three related Knowledge Exchange Projects, we were able to further enrich the course content as well as disseminate it to the wider public. Since September 2016, we conducted a series of activities including (1) focus group interview with a variety of animal concern groups; (2) Dr. Jane Goodall’s public lecture in HKU; and (3) interactive workshops and seminars for primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong.
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In 2016 we successfully invited Dr. Jane Goodall (a worldwide renowned ethologist/conservationist and the United Nations’ Messenger of Peace) to give an exclusive public talk at HKU titled “Reasons for Hope” in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute HK, HKU Faculty of Social Sciences’ Policy for Sustainability Lab, the HKU Common Core Curriculum and National Geographic (Chinese edition). Dr. Goodall brought the audiences into the world of the Gombe chimpanzees and the work of the Jane Goodall Institute – from her early observations and experiences since 1950s to the latest news and stories from the field. She discussed the current threats facing the planet and her five reasons for hope in the social media era. Over 600 public audiences and about 300 HKU staff and students joined the talk. Before the talk, we also invited Dr. Goodall and her team from Jane Goodall Institute HK to join an exclusive symposium with experts from our Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange Project Team as well as those from the HKU School of Biological Sciences and the Common Core Curriculum.
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Dr. Goodall highly appreciated our effort in investigating and promoting the neglected issue of animal right and environmental conservation across Asia and worldwide to Hong Kong people. There were over 1,200 people watching the live broadcast of the talk on YouTube. National Geographic also promoted this event in their October 2016 issue (printed copies: 130,200; digital copies: 31,500) and launched the live broadcast through their official online and social media platforms, disseminating the event news to their followers and subscribers worldwide (nearly 1.67 million reach; 227,892 views; 2996 likes; 122 shares).
