Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and UN Messenger of Peace, is a world-renowned ethologist and conservationist, inspiring greater understanding, and action on behalf of the natural world. On 14th July 1960 Jane arrived on the shores of Gombe in Tanzania to begin what became groundbreaking studies into the lives of wild chimpanzee communities. The discoveries that chimpanzees make and use tools forever changed our understanding of our relationship to the rest of the animal kingdom. This transformative research continues today as the longest running wild chimpanzee study in the world. Jane’s work builds on scientific innovations, growing a lifetime of advocacy including trailblazing efforts through her international organization of 24 Jane Goodall Institutes which advance community led conservation, animal welfare ongoing research and care for captive chimpanzees.
In 1991 Jane founded Roots & Shoots, an environmental and humanitarian program with 12 high school students in Dar es Salaam. Now Jane Goodall’s Roots |& Shoots empowers young people of all ages to become involved in hands-on projects of their choosing and is active in 70 countries. Today, Jane travels approximately 300 days each year, inspiring audiences worldwide through speaking tours, media engagements, written publications, and a wide array of film, television and podcast projects. Author of many books for adults and children, her latest publication “The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times,” has been translated into more than 20 languages.
In July 1960, at the age of 26, Jane Goodall traveled from England to what is now Tanzania, Africa and ventured into the little-known world of wild chimpanzees.
Equipped with little more than a notebook, binoculars, and her fascination with wildlife, Jane braved a realm of unknowns to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. Dr. Jane has not only shown us the urgent need to protect chimpanzees and other animals from extinction; she has also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environment through the Jane Goodall Institute. Today she travels the world, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees and other species along with environmental issues, urging each of us to take action on behalf of all living things and the planet we share.
Dr. Jane believes that every individual can make a difference and that today’s young people are some of the most compassionate, creative, change-makers our world has ever seen. Young people driven to take action are one of her reasons for hope, which is why she created the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program in order to empower and encourage youth of all ages to pursue their passion, mobilize their peers, and become the compassionate citizens and leaders our world needs in order to ensure a better future for people, other animals, and the environment.