An innovative way of spreading the message of Elephant Conservation
On World Elephant Day 2023, the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka (WNPS), in collaboration with veteran cartoon journalists from national newspapers and news websites, launched a unique campaign. This was to use the power of cartoons as a tool for awakening stakeholders, most importantly the general public, on the need to prioritize elephant conservation and help address the escalating human-elephant conflict (HEC) on the island.
Cartoons, quite simply, express technical information and facilitate communication mostly relevant to the biological and social sciences, in one main visual frame - a powerful medium for a much wider audience. By leveraging this art form, the WNPS seeks to present a powerful interpretation of the challenges faced by elephants in their coexistence with humans. The objective of the campaign was to shed light on the urgency of conserving elephants while finding effective ways to mitigate conflicts between humans and these magnificent creatures.
This concept was shared with the interested cartoon journalists in a briefing with Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando and Prof. Devaka Weerakoon, two of the island's leading elephant researchers and conservationists. They delivered detailed presentations on the importance of elephant conservation and the significance of human-elephant conflict management in Sri Lanka. This knowledge-sharing session set up a perfect foundation to inspire and spark the artists’ creativity alight.
From the 7th August 2023, the cartoons were published throughout the week, leading up to World Elephant Day on 12th. The campaign culminated in a final publication in the Sunday publications on the 13th.
"As an organization deeply committed to wildlife conservation, we believe that creative approaches such as this cartoon campaign can be a powerful catalyst for change…
Our aim is to foster a deeper understanding of the issues faced by elephants and encourage a collective effort towards their conservation."
- Jehan CanagaRetna, President of the WNPS
Aware of the importance of increasing accessibility of information, commentary, and debate to all communities in Sri Lanka, the WNPS exhibited the cartoons at the following locations, and the public had the opportunity to view them on the 12th and 13th of August:
The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
The Elephant Transit Home – Uda Walawe
The University of Vavuniya
The Royal Botanic Gardens - Peradeniya
Galle Dutch Fort
The Galgamuwa Animal Welfare Statue Premises
Uhana town
Ampara Public Market Premises
Nabadagaswewa Junction, Sooriyawewa
These strategically selected locations ensured that the campaign's message reached a diverse audience, sparking conversations, and inspiring action to protect elephants and help change Conflict into Co-existence.
Veteran cartoonists Asanga Indunil, Dayan Kottachchi, Dharshana Karunathilake, R. C. Pradeepkumar, Avantha Artigala, Hasantha Wijenayake, Anjana Indrajith, Mifraz Mussammil, Susil Perera and Vasantha Siriwardena contributed their artistry to this campaign. Our sincere appreciation should also go to Anim8 for all the printing requirements, Midaya Packaging for bridgeable boards, and our conservation partners the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Department of National Zoological Gardens, University of Vavuniya, Galgamuwa Pradeshiya Sabha, The Young Zoologists’ Association of Sri Lanka, the Wildlife Conservation Society - Galle, the Youth Exploration Society of Sri Lanka, Ahinsa Sri Lanka, Nature School, and Liyana Arachchi Entertainments for organizing the exhibitions.