Dear Friend,
Here’s a quick progress/plans update to help you make a decision about a year-end gift to The Gorilla Foundation, to support the following 4 comprehensive programs:
KokoApp
The new “KokoSigns” app is now available in both the iPhone and Android app stores to the general public — just search for Koko Signs and install the latest version! The app has been in development for several years, and provides a portal into all aspects of Project Koko, from sign language to conservation
2024 Plans: Continue to add more of Koko’s signs, videos and KokoCast interview with world leaders in gorilla conservation and care.
KokoKids
We’ve just begun to partner with 2 groups of educators in Africa (Cameroon and Uganda), where students will be evaluating the Koko Signs app as both a tool for learning sign language, and as a vehicle to accelerate conservation locally.
2024 Plans: Create a Koko-powered conservation curriculum for students in African habitat countries, using the new Koko Signs app, and evaluate it’s effective for motivating and educating students.
KokoArc is our digital “arc”hival program and this year we succeeded in digitizing over 90% of our research video collection, which includes over a thousand videos of Koko, Michael and Ndume, taken between 1972 and 2018.
2024 Plans: Complete the digitization of the “text” part of our research archive, including hundreds of pages of interspecies communication gorilla diary notes. Begin analyzing 5 decades of data to learn and share more about the linguistic and behavioral capabilities of great apes.
KokoCares
KokoArc is our digital “arc”hival program and this year we succeeded in digitizing over 90% of our research video collection, which includes over a thousand videos of Koko, Michael and Ndume, taken between 1972 and 2018.
2024 Plans: Develop a partnership with 1 or 2 gorilla institutions based on our new “ideal gorilla sanctuary” design, which features large open natural spaces, comprehensive video monitoring, intergroup introduction spaces, and internet access for the general public.
Help us follow through with these plans, and realize a significant portion of Koko’s legacy — conservation through communication — in 2024, by making a generous year-end gift now:
Thank you for your support!
With Koko-Love,
Dr. Penny Patterson
President and Director of Research
The Gorilla Foundation / Koko.org
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