Harrison Ford Gets In Behind Tiger Initiative

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:36:00 -0000

Hollywood giants Harrison Ford, Bo Derek, and Robert Duvall attended an event yesterday to throw their support behind a new global initiative by the World Bank to save tigers from extinction.

The event, held at Washington’s Smithsonian National Zoo, launched the global development agency’s new Tiger Conservation Initiative, a program that will bring together scientists and governments to try to halt the killing and illegal trade in tiger skins, meat and body parts used in traditional Asian medicines.

“I’m here to celebrate the World Bank’s plan to form a global alliance of conservation partners, to work with the tiger range nations in order to secure a future for these magnificent creatures,” said Ford, Indiana Jones star and environmental warrior. “By committing to help wild tigers, the World Bank is sounding its intention to be a global leader in biodiversity conservation.”

The initiative will focus on 13 countries where tiger poaching threatens remaining populations in the wild: Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, India, Russia and Vietnam. World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the decline in the number of tigers was “shocking” – from over 100,000 a century ago to currently less than 4,000.

The program will work with local populations to ensure the species is conserved, and the World Bank will hold a series of discussions with countries, conservationists and the private sector to initiate funding for tiger conservation, and launch studies on how better to protect the cats.

Actress Bo Derek, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Special Envoy for Wildlife Trafficking, said she will focus her efforts on public awareness of the problem.

“It was very embarrassing for me to find out that the U.S. is number 2 in consuming endangered wildlife,” said the 51-year-old. “I travel often, and so many times someone will tell you ‘you can buy this, it’s made of tortoiseshell, but it’s a safe tortoiseshell. It’s not endangered.’ I think education and awareness is critical.”

Robert Duvall also voiced his concerns.

“I’ve always thought they might be the single most beautiful animal in the world,” Duvall told CNN, adding that “people hunt them like crazy. They’re wacko when it comes to shooting things.”

The World Bank is planning to host a “Year of the Tiger” summit in 2010 to provide a forum for those involved in tiger conservation to review the status of the wild tigers and their habitant.

Kevin Bacon Launches “SixDegrees.org”

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 10:02:12 -0000

Kevin Bacon has launched SixDegrees.org, a new web site that builds on the popularity of the “small world phenomenon” to create a charitable social network and inspire giving to charities online.

Bacon started the network with celebrities who are highlighting their favorite charities – including Kyra Sedgwick (Natural Resources Defense Council), Nicole Kidman (UNIFEM), Ashley Judd (YouthAIDS), Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek (Clothes Off Our Back), Dana Delany (Scleroderma Research Foundation), Robert Duvall (Pro Mujer), Rosie O’Donnell (Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation), and Jessica Simpson (Operation Smile) – and he encouraged everyone to be celebrities for their own causes by joining the Six Degrees movement.

“SixDegrees.org is about using the idea that we are all connected to accomplish something good,” said Bacon. “It is my hope that Six Degrees will soon be something more than a game or a gimmick. It will also be a force for good, by bringing a social conscience to social networking.”

The game, ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,’ made the rounds of college campuses over the past decade and lived on to be a shorthand term for the small world phenomenon.

Bacon created SixDegrees.org in partnership with the nonprofit, Network for Good, AOL, and Entertainment Weekly. Through SixDegrees.org, which builds on Network for Good’s giving system for donating to more than one million charities online and AOL’s AIM Pages social networking service, people can learn about and support the charities of celebrities or fundraise for their own favorite causes with their own friends and families. Bacon will match the charitable dollars raised by the top six non-celebrity fundraisers with grants of up to $10,000 each.

“People give to charity because someone they know or respect asks them. So charities are increasingly looking to their supporters – not just themselves – to raise awareness and money online. That means both celebrities and everyday people can make an enormous difference for people in need,” said Bill Strathmann, CEO of Network for Good.

SixDegrees.org harnesses two important online trends: the exponential growth of social networks and the increasing interest in using the web for raising money for charity among family and friends. Through SixDegrees.org, people can upload their own photos and stories and fundraise for the charity of their choice with their own charity badges and AIM Pages.

To kick off the launch of SixDegrees.org, Bacon will attend opening weekend of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT, where he and other celebrities will be encouraging charitable giving. Entertainment Weekly is celebrating SixDegrees.org and Kevin Bacon at its third annual Sundance Festival Opening Weekend Party on January 20 at Jean Louis in Park City. At the party, guests will be able to learn more about SixDegrees.org and celebrities will be encouraged to donate their “swag” to benefit charity. Items will later be listed on eBay using eBay Giving Works.

There will also be a representative from SixDegrees.org in Entertainment Weekly’s Main Street photo studio throughout the week so that when celebrities come to be photographed for the magazine, they can learn more about the organization and find out how they can get involved. Bacon will also be feted at an AOL reception where he will tape an episode of Moviefone.com’s Unscripted with Bradley Whitford, a SixDegrees.org participant and star of “An American Crime” premiering at Sundance.

“AIM Pages and Six Degrees are the perfect pairing as the immense popularity of social networking and the importance of individual giving converge. We look forward to building an important network of good-deed-doers via AIM Pages to benefit the scores of charities associated with Six Degrees,” according to Marcien Jenckes, VP/GM, Instant Messaging & Social Media, AOL.

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