PARAMARIBO–The US embassy is sponsoring the Forest Film Festival at the Cultural Center Suriname (CCS) throughout the month of June, to celebrate the “International Year of Forests.”  Every Thursday audiences can watch between one and three award-winning movies in the auditorium of the Center on Henck Arron Straat in Paramaribo.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

FESTIVAL PROGRAM

Program Public Viewings Thursday June 16, 2011 19:00 Amazon Alive: Jungle of the Mind 43 min 20:15 Indian Tiger 50 min Thursday June 23, 2011 19:00 Finding David Douglas 60 min 20:15 Human Planet: Jungles 59 min Thursday June 30, 2011 19:00 Orangutan Island: Cheating Extinction 44 min 19:50 Back to the Roots 40 min 20:50 Wild Russia: Kamchatka 43 min

 

A word from US Ambassador John Nay

 

International Year of the Forest

The United Nations Forum on Forests has proclaimed 2011 the International Year of Forests.  To commemorate this proclamation and celebrate the forests of both the United States and of Suriname, the Embassy of the United States of America in Paramaribo proudly hosts this Forest Film Festival. Forests provide shelter to over 300 million people around the world, including Suriname, and over 1.6 billion people depend on the forests to earn their living.  Our forests provide food for both people and wildlife, and have been the origin for many of today’s modern medicines.  At the same time forests continue to play a critical role in ensuring a sustainable water supply.  While recognizing all that our forests have and continue to give us, let us also acknowledge that there is much more that we as a people should do – that we must do – to protect our forests.  We have raised the awareness, but we have failed to significantly reduce deforestation.

Suriname is in the unique position that its forest is still largely intact.  It not only represents thousands of years of history, culture, and religion, but also holds the key to this country’s development and prosperity far into the future.  As we reach the crossroad between preserving the past and developing the future let us keep in mind a great Native American proverb that says “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”  And as with all things borrowed, let us return it to our children in excellent condition so they too will be able to enjoy the miracles of our forests.  We owe it to them.

John R. Nay

U.S. Ambassador