SIF organises Seychelles’ first virtual book launch for World Wildlife Day |30 March 2021
To commemorate World Wildlife Day celebrated on March 3, the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, officially launched a new book entitled ‘Visit the Vallée de Mai with Rachel and Ms Maria’. The launch took place on March 18 completely online and was attended by several schools, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Education and SIF. The author of the book and Vallée de Mai science coordinator, Aurelie Hector, is passionate about educating children and young about the environment and its protection. This passion has been translated into this book which aims to capture children’s interest and guide them towards conservation and sustainable living in Seychelles as well as the need for science informed action.
Despite the difficulties and challenges surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, SIF remains committed to its education and outreach objectives. As such and despite prevailing circumstances SIF wanted to find a way in which this book was made accessible to all students in Seychelles. As a result, SIF hosted Seychelles’ first-ever electronic book launch.
As remarked by SIF’s chief executive, Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley: “Doing things differently and adapting to the circumstances has allowed SIF to 'learn by doing' in the hope to reach more people than if it was done the conventional way.”
The book launch took place via the popular webinar and virtual meeting platform Zoom and was streamed to SIF’s Facebook page.
The launch included a reading of the book which encompasses many topics, including highlighting several of Seychelles' endemic species found in the Vallée de Mai, habitat protection, invasive alien species and waste management, among other issues concerning environmental protection.
At the end of the launch electronic copies were sent to schools and teachers in Seychelles via email and Whatsapp.
The book can also be downloaded on SIF’s website (www.sif.sc, Download’s tab).
SIF is committed to continue assisting schools in every way possible, facilitating learning on Seychelles' environment and how we can all contribute to its crucial protection.
Furthermore, with the pandemic continuing to challenge education inside and outside of Seychelles SIF is carrying out several virtual initiatives in addition to this launch and has developed a series of educational activities to connect the general public to the sites it manages.
Press release from SIF