TRHs The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visits India to support Elephant Parade India

8th November, New Delhi: Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended the official preview of Elephant Parade India at the British High Commissioner’s residence in New Delhi. Part of the 2017 UK India Year of Culture, the India edition of the Elephant Parade is organised by Elephant Family and is supported by the luxury diamond jewellery brand, NIRAV MODI. Ms. Poonam Mahajan, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and National President of the Bhartiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha is the Parade Ambassador. Elephant Parade India is an awareness raising campaign aimed at drawing attention to the plight of the endangered Asian elephant whose numbers have fallen by 90% in the last 100 years. Funds raised from the parade will help secure 101 elephant corridors across India for the endangered Asian elephant.

Elephant Family is working in priority landscapes in partnership with the Wildlife Trust of India and have so far saved 5 elephant corridors in India. Elephant Family also funded the 2017 publication of Right of Passage in which 101 elephant corridors are identified across key regions of India.

In June 2015, The Asian Elephant Alliance was officially launched in the presence of their Joint Royal Presidents: TRHs The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall who have been longtime supporters of Elephant Family. Elephant Family is one of five partners in the Alliance.

Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Kaziranga last year launched the Elephant Parade in India. Following 23 successful Elephant Parades worldwide, Elephant Parade India has engaged leading Indian artists, fashion designers, design institutes, tribal painters & celebrities including NIRAV MODI, Subodh Gupta, Anita Dongre, Ashiesh Shah, Christian Louboutin, G R Iranna, Manish Arora, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Masaba Gupta, Vikram Goyal and many more who will transform 101 elephant sculptures into unique painted masterpieces. Each elephant will be displayed at special preview events in Jaipur, New Delhi and Calcutta before the full herd is presented in Mumbai in February 2018.

The last London Elephant Parade, which took place from May to June 2010, became London’s biggest public art exhibition with more than 250 brightly painted elephants located across central London. The sculptures sold for £4.1m and raised awareness for the plight of the endangered Asian elephant with an audience of 25 million people.

For regular updates, follow Elephant Parade India on:

Facebook : Elephant Parade Fan I Instagram: @elephantparadefan

Notes to Editors

Elephant Family

Elephant Family is an international NGO dedicated to protecting the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. In the last 100 years their population has plummeted by 90%. Wild habitat is shrinking at a rapid pace leading to an increasingly fierce competition between people and elephants for living space and food. Poaching and demand for wild caught babies for tourism remain a constant threat. Since 2002 Elephant Family has funded over 160 conservation projects and has raised over £10m through public art events for this endangered animal. Elephant Family funds pioneering projects across Asia to reconnect forest fragments, prevent human-elephant conflict and fight wildlife crime.

Supported by:

Joint Royal Presidents: TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and Patron His Highness Maharaja Gaj Sing II or Marwar-Jodpur

Sponsor Animal Ball London 2018 : NIRAV MODI

Website: www.elephant-family.org

Elephant Parade

Elephant Parade® is a social enterprise and runs the world’s largest art exhibition of decorated elephant statues. Created by artists and celebrities, each Elephant Parade statue is a unique art piece. The life-size, baby elephant statues are exhibited in international cities and raise awareness for the need of elephant conservation.

Website: www.elephantparade.com

Wildlife Trust of India

Wildlife Trust of India is Elephant Family's main conservation partner in India. WTI is a leading Indian nature conservation organisation committed to the service of nature. Its mission is to conserve wildlife and its habitat and to work for the welfare of individual wild animals, in partnership with communities and governments. WTI’s team of 150 dedicated professionals work towards achieving its vision of a secure natural heritage of India, in six priority landscapes, knit holistically together by seven key strategies or Big Ideas.

Website: www.wti.org.en

NIRAV MODI

Global luxury jewelry house, NIRAV MODI, has partnered with the Elephant Family, a charitable organization that looks out for both elephants and human families. Over the course of 2017 and 2018, Elephant Family and NIRAV MODI are uniting to work on a series of high profile public events in India and the UK, that will generate awareness on the Asian elephant situation and also raise funds to power the projects on ground. The NIRAV MODI monogram represents the elephant, which is considered sacred in India, and depicts the values of majesty, strength and grandeur. NIRAV MODI is a brand built on the passion to create extraordinary works of art in the form of lyrical and inspired jewels. There is an unrelenting belief in excellence and perfection: in quality, design, innovation and craftsmanship. The Elephant Family could not have chosen a more ideal partner to be associated with as together, they bring art and design to the forefront.

Website: www.niravmodi.com