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On the occasion of the first World Migratory Bird Day
(WMBD),
Kuki Gallmann and The
Great Rift Valley Trust together with the African-Eurasian
Waterbird Agreement (AEWA)
and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS),
hosted WINGS, a cultural and artistic show inspired by the
phenomenon of bird migration. The event took place on the
Laikipia Nature Conservancy, a 350 km² nature reserve
and biodiversity oasis overlooking the  Kenyan
part of the 7200 km long Great Rift Valley - a bird migration
route of global importance. It brought together key individuals
from leading organizations such as BirdLife and Wetlands
International dedicated to bird conservation and was the
heart of a new global initiative initiated by CMS and AEWA
to celebrate and inform about the phenomenon of bird migration
annually.
A total of 68 (registered) activities to mark this year's
first World Migratory  Bird
Day took place in 46 countries and ranged from four additional
celebrations throughout Kenya, educational activities in
Mongolia and Sri Lanka and others in countries stretching
from Norway to Antarctica and from India to Peru (click
here for an overview) of registered WMBD activities
that took place around the world). The theme of this year's
WMBD celebration was "Migratory birds need our support
now!" It was part of a larger campaign initiated by
CMS and AEWA in cooperation with a number of other organizations
to try to counter the negative and unbalanced publicity
migratory birds have received due to Avian Influenza. The
WMBD event in Laikipia was staged one day before the Scientific
Seminar on "Avian
Influenza, the Environment and Migratory Birds"
at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi on 10/11 April.
 The
central WMBD event took place on the famous estate of Kuki
Gallmann and was directed by Monica Maimone of La Compagnia
Di Valerio Festi. It included world-famous artists such
as Paul Winter and Adrian Brendal and a diverse mix of other
artists from Kenya and around the world. The show, which
was presented to over 200 international guests, including
several ministers, diplomats and conservationists, was preceded
by an official ceremony during which the CMS Executive Secretary,
Robert Hepworth, presented
Kuki Gallmann with the first CMS Ambassadorship
for Migratory Animals. On this occasion, Bert
Lenten, Executive Secretary of AEWA, who worked closely
with Kuki Gallmann to initiate WMBD and stage its main event
at Ol Ari Nyiro, also thanked her for hosting this "magical
artistic creation to celebrate the launch of World Migratory
Bird Day" at her estate, which lies "in the cradle
of humankind, on the edge of the Great Rift Valley corridor,
where twice each year, millions of birds migrate along a
bird migration route of global importance".
During the event Bert Lenten also highlighted some of
the activities that were taking place in other countries
and thanked the many local and international partner organizations
that made this event and the launch of WMBD possible. These
included the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS),
BirdLife International
(Netherlands) and the BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat,
Vogelbescherming
Nederland and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture,
Nature and Food Quality (LNV)
as well as many more. Each of these organizations contributed
to making WMBD and the launching event in the heart of Kenya
a reality.
More information and pictures of WINGS and other events
that took place around the world to mark the first World
Migratory Bird Day are available on the WMBD
Web site.
All organizers of WMBD-related activities in other countries
are strongly encouraged to share their "WMBD stories"
by sending information and pictures to the AEWA
Secretariat.
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