Missed the summit, or missing it already? We made a list of ten ways you can be inspired by the conservationists and creativity from the Conservation Optimism Summit, all on your phone!

 1.) The Conservation Optimism playlist

Just before the summit began, we were delighted that a Virtual Summit attendee, @bowscovery on Twitter, had created a collaborative playlist for Conservation Optimism on Spotify:

 

To add your songs, heart (follow) the playlist so it appears in your library, then press the three dots on a song to add it to the playlist. It may be hard, but keep to three songs!

Listen to the playlist >>

                      2.) The Pokemon Go of wildlife

It’s not quite ready yet, but the first release of Wildeverse– the ‘Pokemon Go of wildlife’- is imminent and you can sign up to get a launch alert when it releases. Our delegates had fun playing with this new kickstarter app in the creative sessions, where real-life data of endangered species is used to overlay cities so people can track a species and find them in augmented reality, starting with Fio the Orangutan and Chili the gibbon, supporting the Borneo Nature Foundation.

Get the launch alert >>

    3.) The Virtual Film Festival

One of the highlights of the summit was the Conservation Optimism Film Festival, which screened shortlisted short films from around the world with inspiring stories of nature connection and wildlife conservation. We were bowled over by the creativity and diversity of stories in the entries, and our judges had a pretty tough job…

Watch the Virtual Film Festival (available until October) >>

                      4.) The plenary talks and panels

We were honoured to host a number of extremely talented and accomplished conservationists in our plenary talks and panels, covering a wide range of topics: community conservation, wellbeing, technology, storytelling, climate change and youth impact. All the plenaries were streamed live and can now be watched online, as well as our opening address from Jane Goodall and the judge’s panel from the film festival.

Catch up on the plenaries >>

                      5.) The tale of Romeo the frog and his Juliet

Another highlight of the summit was hearing the tale of Romeo the Frog from Robin Moore, Director of Communications at Global Wildlife Conservation. It has all the ingredients of the perfect Conservation Optimism story: a hero, a mission, people coming together, and a happy ending. Watch the above video for the full story!

6.) The Snow Leopard Project

A war-torn country may be the last place you’d think to look for conservationists, and protecting wildlife the last thing on people’s minds. But in April 2009, Band-e-Amir, a collection of six sapphire-blue lakes, was named as Afghanistan’s first national park, thanks to a start-up called Conservation X Labs and the people of Afghanistan. They also completed the first wildlife survey in thirty years, and worked to stop the poaching of the country’s iconic endangered animals, including the elusive snow leopard. Our plenary speaker, Conservation X Labs founder Alex Dehgan, told us a part of the story, but not quite enough, as many of us have now added his book The Snow Leopard Project: And Other Adventures in Warzone Conservation to our reading lists.

The Snow Leopard Project >>

7.) The Comics Uniting Nations

In his session about storytelling, Sean Southey (Chair of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication), talked about finding the right medium to distribute your stories from the get-go. He described how a project to make the UN Sustainable Development Goals accessible to people around the world used the medium of comics to tell dynamic stories illustrating the importance of conservation, among other issues. The styles vary to appeal to audiences of different ages and cultures, such as Wild for Life, Anna’s Forest and A Magical Forest.

Peruse the shelf of comics >>

8.) The List of Tweeters

Twitter is where Conservation Optimism really found its momentum within the conservation community, and every day people are sharing inspiring stories with our hashtag. During the summit, our tweeting delegates and virtual attendees got #ConservationOptimism trending! For a shortcut to following all the tweeters from the conservation community who attended the summit in person and online, we created a list of all these accounts.

Follow the Conservation Optimism Summit tweeters >>

9.) The Conservation Optimism conversation

If you’re not already, come and follow us! Twitter may be our favourite spot, but we’re also on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn spreading the optimism through cyberspace. If you post a conservation optimism story with our hashtag or tagging us, we will do our best to amplify your message by sharing it far and wide.

Follow Conservation Optimism on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn >>

10.) The latest Conservation Optimism news

And finally, one last shameless plug (this is our blog, after all!) – if you’d like to hear more from us about our events, ConservationNOW, regional hubs and read our latest blogs, register here and/or sign up for our email newsletter.

Nina Seale
I joined Conservation Optimism and Synchronicity Earth in May 2019 after three years of working for wildlife conservation charity World Land Trust. I had been introduced to field conservation in South Africa, where I worked as a safari guide, and this inspired me to study Zoology at the University of Edinburgh. My passion for wildlife is only seconded by my love for writing, and I am very lucky that I have found a niche where sharing conservation stories can be used to inspire further action for wildlife.