PONGO ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS ON AGAIN!
Our partner, the Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF), is hosting their eighth annual Pongo Environmental Awards on Saturday, 13 November 2021, from 5:30 pm (US Pacific Daylight Time) at the Consulate General of Indonesia's Los Angeles building.
The Pongo Environmental Awards are given to those who have made significant contributions to protect the welfare of all living species via advocacy, leadership, public service, education, and research. The evening also raises urgent funding to save Critically Endangered orangutans from extinction.
We're proud to announce the recipients of the 2021 Pongo Environmental Awards!
Pongo Awards recipients:
- Director/producer/writer Jonnie Hughes and Silverback Films for their Netflix documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.
- Global environmentalist Dianna Cohen (Founder and CEO) and Plastic Pollution Coalition for working to end plastic pollution worldwide with projects in 75 countries.
- Aspiration Partners, Inc. for sustainable commerce for their environmental advocacy and initiatives as a B-corp green financial organization.
- Indonesian businessman and conservationist Tomy Winata for his stewardship of the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation and Sumatran Tiger protection initiatives in Sumatra.
- International conservationist Ashley Leiman for her 30 years of advocacy of protecting wild orangutans in Central Borneo and founding the Orangutan Foundation UK.
If you're based in California, you can purchase tickets to attend the live event, with proceeds to support the work of OURF. For those unable to attend, a livestream of the event will be available. Get your tickets to the event on 13th November here!
The theme this year's event is "Respecting Nature: Celebrating the Biodiversity and Beauty of Indonesia." Actor and environmental activist, Ed Begley Jr. will be participating in the evening gala, and 10-year-old Indonesian-American actor and singing sensation Malea Emma will be performing live on stage.
Why are they called 'the Pongo Awards'? If you said, 'Pongo is the scientific name for orangutans', you'd be right! The three orangutan species are:
- Bornean orangutan: Pongo pygmaeus
- Sumatran orangutan: Pongo abelii
- Tapanuli orangutan: Pongo tapanuliensis
The Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) is a US-based 501(c)(3) charity with a mission to save wild orangutans through education initiatives and innovative, collaborative projects. The Orangutan Project is the funder of OURF, supporting educational scholarships for young Indonesian conservationists, along with community-based education initiatives.
