Wildlife Ambassadors

Objective: This program will be used to (a) develop a network of university students who can be used in outreach in their own universities and in local communities and schools (b) identify leadership potential and train for further professional work.

1. This program engages Tanzanian university students who have an interest in conservation and community program implementation.  They bring various areas of specialty, but all are eager to learn more about conservation issues, teach in their own communities, and support the education and action efforts of SPF.
2. This is the newest of SPF’s programs and needs to be evaluated over time to test its effectiveness and learn what works best.

• A possible outcome of this program is to create a team to serve as SPF outreach staff in communities around the Serengeti who will engage in SPF education and action programs.

Budget:

Currently this program includes periodic seminars for ambassadors.  The cost for these seminars is similar to journalism seminars, $3,000 per day.  Additional budget is needed to support local implementation by Ambassadors after the seminars. This will include hiring them as temporary staff, at a rate of $50 per day, and any materials and transport needed to conduct local activities.

Evaluation:  Keep totals of number of Wildlife Ambassadors involved along with the number who are actively involved on outreach in their schools and local communities. Estimate the number of people who are actively reached by them.

More

This program is for university students throughout Tanzania. It looks for students who are interested in promoting and protecting the natural resources of the country and builds a network through social media and meetings. Although new, there is much interest on campuses.

The overall goal of the program is to mentor and connect future leaders, empowering them as change agents:

• It harnesses the power of social media. Young people in Tanzania are now fully connected and online, sharing ideas and opinions, creating movements for action and change. These platforms can be used to educate, provide resources, organize student groups, create positive messaging, and even petition the government.

• Ambassadors identify communities in their own regions, and SPF will help them conduct mini-outreach programs. They can reach out to boarding and day schools with conservation talks with students, who in turn may become ambassadors.

• We can enable some ambassadors to deliver our STEP curriculum to teachers, and support them in using it effectively.

• Ambassadors can do wildlife conference talks at their universities and invite different speakers to share research and field experiences.

• We will have flash drives loaded with videos, and other resources for use in universities and local communities, so that the ambassadors can provide on-the-spot mini-education tours for the public.

• We will also help them do research on conservation and come up with possible solutions.

• Finally, Ambassadors who show outstanding promise and motivation will be coached and groomed as potential SPF regional staff to support our full package of programs in areas where we undertake our “saturation” education and advocacy model.