Elephant Parade Amsterdam
We saw these great elephant sculptures all around Amsterdam Julie and
I decided to take a few photos. Turns out there's quite a story, not
too mention a good cause, behind each of these elephants.
http://www.elephantparade.com/home/
ABOUT
Elephant Parade is a ‘parade’ of copyrighted, life-size model baby
elephants which are being displayed in major cities around the world.
Painted by local and international artists, each elephant is a unique
piece of art.
Mission
It is Elephant Parade’s mission to become one of the world’s largest
financial support organizations for elephants. At the same time
Elephant Parade events will attract worldwide attention as well as
much needed public awareness and support for the cause of elephant
preservation: Elephant Parade elephants will not go unnoticed by the
wider public!
Background
Friends of the Asian Elephants (www.elephant-soraida.com) is an
organization run by Miss Soraida Salwala, was founded in 1993 and runs
the first elephant hospital in the world. Located in Lampang,
Soraida’s mission is to help and cure elephants which are injured or
suffering from disease and illness. At the hospital they receive
professional and dignified treatment.
Marc Spits, who together with his son Mike initiated Elephant Parade,
met Miss Salwala in 2004 and found that Friends of the Asian Elephants
needed more funds to carry on its campaign for the dignity and
survival of Asian elephants.
The Asian elephant needs urgent attention and support. At the turn of
the last century there were an estimated 300,000 elephants living in
Thailand. By 1960 this figure had dropped to about 40,000. Today, a
mere 1,500 elephants live in the wild, with about 3,000 more kept in
captivity. Worldwide there remain between 40,000 and 50,000 Asian
elephants, of which 16,000 live in captivity. If we don’t act now, the
Asian elephant may soon become extinct.
Elephant Parade events around the world
The first Elephant Parade was organised in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
between 1st September and 17th November 2007. Both financially and in
terms of publicity the event was a tremendous success. A survey
showed that the Elephant Parade elephants, which were spread all over
town, were the most photographed objects ever in the city of
Rotterdam.
During 2008 and 2009 Parades will be organized in Belgium, France and
Thailand. Please go to country flag for specific information on these
forthcoming Elephant Parade events.
Why Elephant Parade?
The Elephant Parade concept appeals to the public imagination in many
ways. Elephants are perceived as ‘cuddly’ and sympathetic animals;
most people genuinely like real elephants. The Elephant Parade baby
elephants are that much more appealing and provoke an even warmer
response; they can be amusing, eye-catching, newsworthy, ’cool’, odd
and sometimes even shocking. They are modern art in a very friendly
and accessible medium, thus generating awareness and support for this
endangered species.
Auction
The elephants created for Elephant Parade events will be auctioned by
professional auctioneers in each city where an event takes place.
Each elephant is a unique piece of art and will not be produced ever
again as a full-size baby elephant. a substantial part of the auction
proceeds will be used to fund Asian elephant organizations such as
Friends of the Asian Elephant, which support the cause of Asian
elephant preservation.
