Hong Kong, June 30, 2007:
National Geographic Channel Asia, the leading documentary channel
in the region, today announced its partnership with Heifer International
- Hong Kong, a charitable organization, to promote the Read to Feed
initiative -- a practical tool that encourages students to read
and promote global education while empowering children to make a
difference.
In keeping with National Geographic Society's mission of conservation
and education, National Geographic Channel will provide documentary
programs from its vast library for viewing at schools participating
in Heifer’s Read to Feed program during next school year,
as to foster an environment of learning and deepen students’
understanding of the environment and other such issues. Be it Jane
Goodall’s China Diary, Giant Pandas or Strange Days on Planet:
Earth Troubles Waters, each documentary will tell an inspiring story
that promises to educate as well as entertain children.
Through Read to Feed, children are inspired to read books and raise
money by finding sponsors (e.g. family members and friends) for
each book read. Donations will be used to provide livestock and
training to impoverished families in rural China with the objective
to making these families self-reliant for food and income. Through
watching National Geographic Channel documentaries, students participating
in Read to Feed will be able to learn more about global environmental
issues and develop a broader view of life on earth.
Zubin Gandevia, Managing Director & Executive Vice President
of National Geographic Channel Asia said, “At National Geographic
Channel, it is our constant endeavor to motivate and enable each
new generation to become more well informed about the world around
them and the Read to Feed program is an extension of this philosophy.
Through this initiative we look to engaging children in experiential,
hands-on learning and as well as encouraging them to expand their
thought horizons by exploring new frontiers with our environmental
documentaries.”
Annie Fung, Executive Director of Heifer International – Hong
Kong said, “We are excited about this partnership with National
Geographic Channel . Through Read to Feed, Heifer educates students
on rural China and issues such as poverty and environment. The National
Geographic Channel documentaries can bring to life global issues
and help students understand the relationships between people, their
actions, animals and the environment. We hope that together, we
can help create a generation of compassionate and responsible global
citizens in Hong Kong.
Synopsis of the Documentaries
Jane Goodall: China Diary
The National Geographic Special Jane Goodall: China Diary accompanies
the famed scientist on this rare look inside the growing environmental
movement in China. In this personal memoir, the 5 trips that Dr.
Goodall has made since first visiting China are documented and some
of the remarkable people in China that are working to protect and
conserve the natural environment are profiled. Throughout the film,
Dr. Goodall¹s message of hope and responsibility is heard loud
and clear. In 1998, Dr. Jane Goodall made her first trip to Shanghai
and Beijing. In China she was greeted with great respect and admiration.
Dr. Goodall found a unique and fascinating country that was just
beginning to focus on the environmental impact of rapid industrialization
and urbanization. In China as in other parts of the world there
is intense interest in the Chimpanzee research that Dr. Goodall
and the Jane Goodall Institute has pioneered. Everywhere Jane goes
she is asked about her work and the implications to humanity and
the environment. Thousands of Chinese people have attended Jane¹s
lectures and she has visited thousands more in schools and university
environmental groups. The Chinese media has introduced Dr. Jane
and her thoughts to hundred¹s of millions more. In this unique
film, Guo Geng, the visionary director of the Deer Park outside
of Beijing, discusses the impact that Dr. Goodall has had on Chinese
environmental consciousness. Zhang Lu Ping, Founder and Director
of the Beijing Dog and Cat Shelter, through her extraordinary compassion
explodes myths about Chinese inhumanity toward dogs and cats. Award
winning Chinese wildlife photographer Xi Zhi Nong shows some of
his work or the most rare and precious species in the wild places
of China and explains how it has been successfully used to promote
awareness and conservation in China and beyond. Liang Cong Jie,
founder of the influential Friends of Nature group considers the
problems facing China. Tireless environmental educator, Hao Bing,
brings lessons about nature and conservation to life for children
in remote areas of China. And Tang Xi Yang, an inspiration to generations
of conservationists in China and founder of the Green Camp Movement,
inspires China¹s future environmental leaders. ³Jane Goodall
China Diary² takes the viewer inside a special part of China
that is rarely seen to reveal how Chinese people and especially
Chinese children are learning to take responsibility for their environment.
If the viewer has preconceived ideas about this then they may be
surprised to find the depth of commitment and awareness to a clean
environment that is growing in China. Join Dr. Jane Goodall as she
visits her human and animal friends in China.
Strange Days On Planet: Earth Troubled Waters
A series of apparently unconnected crises among animal populations
around the world turns out to be linked by water. This series examines
evidence that toxins are being spread throughout the world's water
systems and explores what people can do to remedy the problem. Elsewhere,
epidemiologists in Columbia, Missouri are investigating the effects
of chemicals found in tap water. They have discovered evidence of
human vulnerability, reporting high miscarriage rates in women who
drink tap water with elevated levels of chlorine by-products. Dozens
of chemicals have been discovered in the bodies of these St. Lawrence
belugas. Some dead belugas are so full of toxins and chemical mixtures
from the water that they technically qualify as hazardous waste.
It’s these chemical mixtures, as opposed to any one toxin
in particular, that are causing scientists to worry.
Giant Panda
Renowned Japanese wildlife filmmaker Misuaki Iwago ventures into
China's remote Qinling Mountains in an unprecedented attempt to
reveal the secret life of the Giant Panda. Shot over the course
of a year in one of China's most extreme and stark landscapes, the
story includes the first recorded footage of a mother panda raising
her young cub in the wild. Iwago also traces some of the mountain's
other inhabitants including the only wild breeding population of
crested ibises, the golden-haired mountain goat, and the golden
snub-nosed monkey. Along with the Giant Panda these animals have
nestled in this unforgiving environment since the last ice age.
Welcome to one of the last remaining sanctuaries on planet Earth.
About National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) invites viewers
to re-think the way they see television - and the world - with smart,
innovative programming. A business enterprise owned by National
Geographic Television (NGT) and FOX Entertainment Group, NGCI contributes
to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration,
conservation and education.
Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC U.S. which
is a joint venture of NGT and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available
in 250 million homes (including day-part households) in 166 countries
and 34 languages.
About Heifer International – Hong Kong
Established in 1944 in the U.S., Heifer International is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to ending world hunger by providing animals
and training to help impoverished families around the world become
self-reliant. Heifer International – Hong Kong was founded
in 2000 to support Heifer’s program in Mainland China. For
the past 20 years, Heifer China has provided over 4.3 million animals
and training to assist more than 50,000 families become self-reliant.
For more information on Heifer Hong Kong, please visit www.heiferhk.org
For more information, please contact:
National Geographic Channel Asia
Gorden Li
Tel : +852 2621 88963
Email : gordenli@ngcasia.com
Heifer International - Hong Kong
Jeanie Wong
Tel: (852) 2368 0770
Email: jeanie.wong@heiferhk.org
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