CHENGDU PAMBASSADOR 2012

INFORMATION KIT

Sponsored by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (“Chengdu Panda Base”) and co-sponsored by the international wildlife protection NGO WildAid, Chengdu Pambassador is a global program offering panda lovers around the world the chance to become a “panda ambassador” (or Pambassador) for a year. As a non-profit organization engaged in wildlife research, panda breeding, conservation education and educational tourism, the Chengdu Panda Base is looking for partners to help raise awareness for the plight of giant pandas.

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

The first Pambassador campaign was held in 2010. It was a global competition to search for six panda keepers, dubbed Pambassadors, to work at the renowned Chengdu Panda Base and Research Center. A gesture of openness to the world, the Pambassador embodied Chengdu’s cultural heritage and its renewed ambition of sustainability.

The campaign was immensely successful. Nearly 61,000 applicants from 52 countries entered the Pambassador search competition. Pambassador was described as “the new best job in the world” by ABC’s Good Morning America.

CAMPAIGN HISTORY

CAMPAIGN REACH (2010)

• 160 media outlets globally covered the story, including the Wall Street Journal, AFP, USA Today, international TV networks including American ABC and CBS, British BBC, Global Al Jazeera, Japan’s Kyoto News, CTV (Canada), RAI (Italy) and CCTV (China) amongst many others

8.5 Million ViewersPAMBASSADOR WEBSITE

178 COUNTRIES

61,000 PARTICIPANTSPAMBASSADOR CONTEST

58% Increase

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CHENGDUTOURISTS

26% Increase

2010

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This year, the Chengdu Panda Base is launching “Panda Quest,” a campaign starting on Facebook and continuing through to on-the-ground events around the world and in Chengdu to create awareness about panda conservation and the Chengdu Panda Base’s goal to return pandas to the wild.

Throughout the competition, participants will need to complete a variety of tasks to prove themselves worthy of becoming a Pambassador.

CHENGDU PAMBASSADOR2012

9 COUNTRIES

3 INTERNATIONAL REGIONS

Washington DC Edinburgh Singapore

96 Semi Finalists

16 Finalists

SELECTION OF PAMBASSADORS

China

The Singapore part of the Chengdu Pambassador 2012 campaign will be supported by Project Black & White, a project that aims to create a movement within the public using the iconic colors of the panda, black and white.

SEMI-FINALS IN SINGAPORE

OBJECTIVE: Raise awareness regionally of the plight of the giant panda.

PAMBASSADOR SEMI-FINALS CONTEST

LAUNCH EVENTConcert + Fashion Show

CONTESTPambassador

EXHIBITIONPanda Maze

Supported by Project Black & White

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is a world-renowned breeding and research base for giant pandas.VISITORS: 100,000 each year FOUNDED: 1987 OPENED TO PUBLIC:1995, with six giant pandas rescued from the wild. AREA: 106 hectares with bamboo groves and a native-like habitat

The base is the only one of its kind located in an urban area, about 7 miles (11km) north of downtown Chengdu. Red pandas, golden monkeys and other wild and/or endangered species live and breed here. A museum is open to the public throughout the year.

Today, 108 pandas live in the Panda Base. The base aims to increase the population of giant pandas and eventually release some of the animals back into the wild. The panda species can be traced back 8 million years to the location of Chengdu.

80% of the world’s Giant Pandas reside in Sichuan Province.

ABOUT THE CHENGDU PANDA BASE

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It was the historic starting point of the Southern Silk Road. Chengdu is one of the most important economic, transportation, and communication centers in Western China

INHABITANTS: 14 million

Named China’s 4th-most livable city by China Daily.

The fertile Chengdu Plain, on which Chengdu is located, is also known as the “Country of Heaven”, a phrase also often translated as “The Land of Abundance”.Chengdu is an officially recognized UNESCO City of Gastronomy and outnumbers Shanghai in the number of tea houses and bars despite having less than half the population.

Its inhabitants have a reputation for having a laid-back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life.

ABOUT THE CITY OF CHENGDU