Remembering Elie Wiesel

0
It was a great honour for me to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace along with Elie Wiesel. Having survived the horrors of the Nazi death camps that killed his father, and almost killed him, it would be understandable if thoughts of hatred and a desire for revenge had coloured the rest of his life. Instead he spoke, along with Nelson Mandela, of the need for forgiveness. I heard him speak twice to the young people of different nationalities gathered on International Day of Peace at the UN headquarters in New York. And on both occasions they listened with wrapt attention to every word, and gathered around him afterwards with many questions and comments.
His message is sorely needed in so many parts of our troubled world today and he will be missed. It is up to the rest of us to take his words to heart and to spread his message of peace.
Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE

About Author

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 25 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 75 countries and counting. 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.