World Environment Day is on June 5, and Don Cheadle will be in Rwanda to celebrate.
The actor will be announcing the winners of a competition to name two baby mountain gorillas at a special ceremony to celebrate the day.
The ceremony of giving a name to a newborn human baby, commonly known as Kwita Izina, has been a Rwandan tradition for centuries. Three decades ago, the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks, and the people of Rwanda, decided to extend this ceremony to include the cherished, endangered gorillas of their country in which 1/3 of the total population lives. The names attributed to these animals play a key role in the monitoring program of individuals and groups in the habitat. The naming ceremony, which was launched as a public outreach campaign in 2005, is aimed at ensuring the future of Rwanda’s mountain gorillas and bringing global awareness to the plight of all gorillas and their habitats.
World Environment Day (WED) 2010 is aimed to be the biggest, most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action. Commemorated on 5 June since 1972, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action.
Gisele Bundchen will also promote World Environment Day in her native Brazil. Click here to watch a PSA she recorded for the initiative.
