A Message From John Fahey

As most of this institution’s friends and donors know, we define the work of the National Geographic Society today as being focused on inspiring people to care about the planet.

While we hope that everything we do—whether an issue of our award-winning magazine, a terrific new product, or a wonderful interactive feature on our website—serves that objective, we take special pride in an aspect of our efforts that truly sets us apart—the programs of our Missions group. This report details their growth and accomplishments in 2007, a special year made possible in many ways by the support and investment of people like you.

The highlight for me personally was our first ever Explorers Symposium. More than 25 Explorers-in-Residence, Emerging Explorers, National Geographic Fellows, and grantees came together at our headquarters in Washington to update us on their work and tell us stories from the field. It’s hard to describe how exciting this gathering turned out to be for those of us who spend most of our time here in the building. Our explorers and grantees are remarkable men and women—of all ages, races, and all sorts of expertise from every corner of the globe. Each and every one is passionate, articulate, accomplished, and working on amazing things. They embody the best in us and make me more confident in the future—not only of our institution, but of the planet at large. My colleagues and I were renewed and reenergized in the course of just a few days and are already looking forward to future Explorers Symposiums.

We thank you for the partnership you provide to ensure that the work of our explorers and grantees—and the Society at large—continues and expands.

John Fahey | President and CEO

A Message From Terry Garcia

The Explorers Symposium was indeed a catalytic and empowering event for Mission Programs as well as for the Society at large. As John indicated, the people whose work we fund did share insights and updates on their specific initiatives, with extraordinary energy and passion. But in the process of exchanging information about their own work, new projects and cross-collaborations were born—right on the spot.

For example, Emerging Explorer Enric Sala gave a presentation on his work to protect coral reefs—one of the most endangered ecosystems on Earth. Several other participants came forward afterwards with thoughts about ways they could work together and expand his initiative. Enric embraced their ideas and offers, and developed a new paradigm to preserve marine programs and create new model programs for other conservation efforts. Later last year, he was named an NG Fellow, with funding to pursue his vision. We expect to be reporting to you on his progress in this critical area in the years to come.

As you’ll see in the following pages, 2007 was a most productive year. Highlights include: major discoveries like Paul Sereno’s Nigersaurus and a prehistoric village at Stonehenge; expanding public programs that bring the world to new audiences like our All Roads Film Festival, Photo Camp, and NG Live! series; new initiatives like Enduring Voices and ongoing initiatives like Genographic; and the important work of our Education Foundation to promote and redefine geography education. Every success reminds us of how much impact we can have, and how much more there is we can do when we’re engaged with talented individuals like our explorers and grantees.

Your belief that what we do matters gives us inspiration. We are grateful for your commitment as
we work together to inspire others to care about this planet.

Terry Garcia | Executive Vice President, Mission Programs