ifaw celebrates 50 years of work for animal welfare

To celebrate its 50th anniversary and to present our priorities for the next five years of EU policy, IFAW held a cocktail reception on 24 September 2019 at the Royal Belgium Institute for Natural Sciences, in Brussels.

The event, taking place in the Biodiversity Lobby of the museum, brought together 116 guests, including six Members of European Parliament (MEPs), European Commission’s staff, NGOs, media and supporters.

After showing a short video presenting our new brand, Catherine Bearder MEP took the floor and called on the European Parliament to continue its efforts related to wildlife and urged fellow MEPs to continue the fight against illegal wildlife trade.

Our Deputy Vice President for Conservation, Jimmiel Mandima, inspired the audience in acting for change and presented successful examples of IFAW’s work on the ground, in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Finally, Joep van Mierlo, our Regional Director for Europe, wrapped up the remarks by detailing our main priorities for the EU policy over the years to come and launched a strong call to action to everyone so that animals and people can thrive together.

The guests also enjoyed an exclusive access to the gallery ‘250 years of Natural Sciences’ and had the opportunity to take wildlife-themed-photos at a photo booth, in addition to fruitful discussions with IFAW staff members from France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium and other attendees.

It was inspiring to see so many people gathered together with the same wish to help, and we thank everyone who continues to support our work for animals, people and the place we call home.