Wednesday 15 September, 6pm
Royal Geographical Society, London
Galapagos: Where Next?
Guest speakers:
Stanley Johnson, HE The Ambassador of Ecuador Mrs Ana Alban Mora, Dr Sarah Darwin and Dr J Gabriel Lopez.In 2009 we treated our guests with three wonderful speakers and - not being content with that - this year we were delighted to secure a line up of four! Not only this, but the audience was greeted by our new chairman, Edmund Truell.
The range of speakers offered very different perspectives on Galapagos, with renowned journalist and author Stanley Johnson chairing a lively discussion; The Ambassador of Ecuador of Ecuador in the UK, Ana Alban Mora spoke about the Ecuadorian Government's ongoing commitment to the Islands; Dr Sarah Darwin talked about retracing the footsteps of her great great grandfather around the world in 2009. Having not been to Galapagos for many years she was struck by the human impact and need to engage local people. Finally Dr Gabriel Lopez, executive director of the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) spoke to our supporters for the first time since taking on this challenging role and gave an informative update on some of the current issues in the Islands.
In the raffle, Susie Hughes, from London, won first prize of a seven night cruise for two in Galapagos.
GCT was honoured to have been given the original painting that made up this year's Lonesome's Christmas card and an auction of this artwork was launched at the event. This was kindly donated by the extremely talented author/illustrator, Alexis Deacon and is being auctioned online until 1 December.
Galapagos Day was kindly supported for the first time by the Ultimate Travel Company, including the donation of the raffle's prize and International Watch Company who showcased their Galapagos Aquatimer watch. We are extremely grateful to everyone who supported the event and look forward to seeing you all again next year.
