Hi everyone, this is Azzedine Downes, I’m the CEO and President of IFAW --- International Fund for Animal Welfare.
And I’m really thrilled to be part of this incredible experience of connecting art and wildlife conservation once again for the 2024 Youth Art Contest.
So this year’s theme is ‘Connecting People and the Planet through digital innovation in wildlife conservation’, and I think it’s especially important this year because there is so much discussion of innovation in the digital world and artificial intelligence.
But for me, the most important thing is that, however you decide to express yourself through art---is the connection.
The connection that you have with nature, the connection that you have with wildlife and the places where they live.
So I encourage everyone to be really, really creative. Express yourself through art and think about it in the ways that you can bring more people into the conservation world through your art.
So good luck!