Forests for People

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Hundreds of screenings have taken place, for audiences around the

world throughout 2011 as part of the continuing festival. The Film

Festival was awarded the grand prize by CinemAmbiente, the leading

environmental film festival in Europe. The Turin-based organization

also coordinates the worldwide network of similar environmental film

festivals and the Environmental Film Festival Network (EFFN).

The success of the Film Festival is a credit to the Jackson Hole

Wildlife Film Festival (JHWFF) and its Executive Director Lisa

Samford; JHWFF has a long history of working to raise awareness

and empower action through the innovative use of media. The

JHWFF provides broadcasters, filmmakers, and other industry

stakeholders with a forum to expand the role of media in under-

standing wildlife and their habitats.

Award-winning filmmaker and United Nations Environment

Programme Goodwill Ambassador Yann Arthus-Bertrand created

a short film, ‘Of Forests and Men’,

narrated by United Nations

Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity Edward Norton, for Forests

2011. The film, which premiered at the Forests 2011 launch cere-

mony, was generously made available free of copyright.

A Forest Public Service Announcement created by Adolescent.

TV for UNFFS is a contemporary take on how everything, from the

tea we drink to the furniture we use in our daily lives, has a forest

within it. The video clip is currently featured on the United Nations

multimedia site and can be seen on the Forests 2011 website.

Video messages recorded by United Nations Secretary-General

Ban Ki-Moon and 19 forest ministers and senior officials from the

Collaborative Partnership on Forests, as well as by Norton, are

featured on the United Nations YouTube channel.

Future Policy Awards

The World Future Council collaborated with the UNFFS, FAO and

CBD Secretariat on the 2011 Future Policy award.

The 2011 award

Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Altitude

Image: www.GoodPlanet.org

Commemorative stamps

The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued

a series of eight stamps

to commemorate Forests 2011.

These vibrant new stamps illustrate the importance of trees

and forests in people’s lives. Designed by internationally

celebrated artist, Sergio Baradat, the artwork highlights

the beauty of forests and their vital link to life on Earth.

For centuries, stamps have been valued for their role in

chronicling human history. Just as the rings within trees hold

the history of life on earth, stamps mark historic milestones.

This stamp series visually evokes the spirit of Forests 2011

and transports it to the far corners of the world.

“Sergio’s colourful designs remind us all that one third of

the Earth’s land surface is covered by trees,” says UNPA Chief

David Failor. “The stamps also remind us that mankind plays

an important role in maintaining the balance provided by

forests.”