Toy company Barbie has created a new doll modelled after British conservationist, Dr Jane Goodall.
Barbie has unveiled a new Dr Jane Goodall doll in honour of the British conservationist, 88, who is widely regarded as the world’s leading expert on chimpanzees Dame Jane’s doll is dressed in a tan-coloured shirt and shorts, as well as a pair of black boots, and comes with a pair of binoculars and a notebook.
Dr Goodall, 88, is a renowned primatologist and widely considered the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees. Her obsession with apes was in its infancy when she took off to Africa aged 23 – unheard of back then – and embarked on a life studying primates.
As the latest Inspiring Women Doll, the doll has been created alongside the Jane Goodall Institute and comes with a separate David Greybeard chimp accessory – modelled after the primate Dr Goodall studied – ahead of World Chimpanzee Day on Thursday. She said she wanted to ‘remind youngsters they can be anything, anywhere’, adding: “My entire career, I’ve wanted to help inspire kids to be curious and explore the world around them – just like I did when I first travelled to Tanzania 62 years ago.”
Formerly known as Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, Jane is an ethologist and conservationist known for her study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees and first arrived at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in July 1960. Dr Goodall has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, a global wildlife and environment conservation organisation which works to protect the famous chimpanzees of Gombe National Park in Tanzania. The Institute is widely recognised for community-centred conservation and development programmes in Africa, the ongoing research at Gombe, the Tchimpounga and Chimp Eden sanctuaries for orphan chimpanzees and for her global youth programme Roots & Shoots.
In April 2002 Dr. Goodall was named a UN Messenger of Peace by Kofi Annan and has received many awards and honours. She was made a Dame in 2004 and holds many other awards for her environmental and humanitarian work, including the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the French Legion of Honour, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, Japan’ s Kyoto Prize and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.
The doll’s launch coincides with the 62nd anniversary of her first journey to the forest of Gombe National Park in Tanzania. “I’m thrilled to partner with Barbie and encourage young children to learn from their environment and feel a sense that they can make a difference. Through this partnership, I hope to inspire the next generation of eco-leaders to join me in protecting our planet and remind them they can be anything, anywhere – on the field, in the lab, and at the table.”
Barbie’s Inspiring Women series ‘pays tribute to courageous women who took risks, changed rules, and paved the way for generations to dream bigger than ever before’. Dr Jane Goodall said she hopes the doll will ‘inspire the next generation of eco-leaders’ to join her in ‘protecting the planet’
Other dolls in the series include activist Dr Maya Angelou, former tennis star Billie Jean King and former First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt.
Lisa McKnight, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls at Mattel, said: ‘Kids need more role models like Dr Jane Goodall, because imagining they can be anything is just the beginning – seeing it makes all the difference.’ “We hope that this collection and homage to a groundbreaking pioneer for women in science and conservation inspires kids to learn more about green careers, how they can protect the planet, and act out sustainable stories through doll play. We know that sustainability is a top concern for future generations and we are proud to unveil our first sustainable Barbie Inspiring Women and Career of the Year Eco-Leadership team dolls.”
Original source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk