Each annual World Elephant Day campaign brings together a dedicated group of talented and hard-working individuals who make up the official World Elephant Day team. Working with limited resources, we bring attention to the numerous issues that are impacting the future survival of elephants, other wildlife, and their habitat. Through our official website, educational content, social media outreach, and communications with our Friends of World Elephant Day conservation organizations, this annual day of celebration of our elephant friends comes to life largely as a result of the tireless efforts of our small but mighty team. It is our tradition to acknowledge the efforts of these beautiful people who help bring World Elephant Day to the world.
A Huge Elephant Thank You to the Official 2025 World Elephant Day Campaign Team
Patricia Sims, Founder, President
Graeme Wheeler, Digital Media & Marketing Director
Greg Cummings, 2025 Campaign Director
Caleigh Campbell, Social Media Manager
Alisa Kerr, Graphic Design
Shawn DeWolf, Website Developer, WEB321
Mark Lisé, Daniel Truong, Digital Space Software Engineering
With much Gratitude to the board and advisors of our public charity World Elephant Society 501(c)(3) EIN #475675923
Gloria Trujillo
Sharron Mollenhauer
Lance Gould
George Doherty
Ron Thaler
Michael Clark
Malcolm P. Burke
A Big Thank You to our World Elephant Day Co-Founder, the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, our wonderful Friends of World Elephant Day, who are tirelessly dedicated to making the world a better, safer place for elephants and to all of our World Elephant Day donors for supporting our work in bringing the world together to help elephants.
Highlights to the World Elephant Day 2025 Campaign
The World Elephant Day 2025 campaign theme, Matriarchs & Memories, not only honoured the wisdom and leadership of elephant matriarchs, but also highlighted the voices of women and Indigenous conservation leaders working on the frontlines in Africa and Asia. Backed by a groundswell of global support, the campaign demonstrated the extraordinary reach and influence of the World Elephant Day brand. Actor and environmental activist Daryl Hannah lended her voice — and Peter Gabriel, his music — to the official World Elephant Day 2025 campaign video, bringing heart, visibility, and global reach to the cause.
World Elephant Day 2025 shines a light on the next generation of conservationists in Africa and Asia who are finding innovative solutions to the human-elephant conflict.
This year, we focused on the people who live closest to elephants — communities who must balance food security with conservation, and who understand that the threat elephants pose to their livelihoods is mirrored by the threat humans pose to elephants’ survival. And, in particular, we are reaching out to the matriarchs in those communities.
Across Africa and Asia, communities are developing creative, low-cost, and effective solutions — beehive fences, chili barriers, early warning systems, crop alternatives — to reduce conflict and allow elephants to live freely and safely. With your help, we can support and scale these efforts.
Funds raised supported our global awareness campaign, spearheaded by a video narrated by environmental advocate Daryl Hannah and music by Peter Gabriel.
A New Paradigm for Elephant Conservation
A persistent misconception is that the rights of local and Indigenous communities are at odds with wildlife conservation. The reality is the opposite: those who live closest to elephants often have the most at stake in their survival. Long-term conservation depends on their leadership, knowledge, and stewardship.
Research confirms that approaches rooted in biocultural diversity — combining ecological protection with cultural values and local participation — deliver lasting results. Cultural traditions often contain deep ecological knowledge. In many Asian societies, elephants are considered sacred. That reverence, if cultivated and supported, can be a foundation for coexistence.
Download and circulate the 2025 campaign deck
