Protecting the environments become the most important crossroad of our time. Our existence depends on the conservation of the planet. Therefore, the research projects whose purpose is to guarantee this survival are key to our very own future as a species.
130 years ago, there was an identical desire to learn about our environment in order to improve it. This brought together 33 scholars including natural scientists, geographers, cartographers, educators, lawyers, and fom the military, to create an entity which would contribute to extending the boundaries of knowledge of geography. Thus was born the National Geographic Society, founded on a cold day, 27 January 1888 in Washington D.C. by this heterogeneous group of wise men, among which were philanthropist Gardiner Greene Hubbard, the first President of the Society, and his son-in-law, British inventor, scientist, and speech therapist Alexander Graham Bell, who succeeded him as President.
Since then, National Geographic has become the most important non-profit institution in the world, and an absolute reference when it comes to exploration and research.
Under the protection of the yellow frame of its iconic logo, in the last century and a half the National Geographic Society has supported the careers of scientists and researchers from all around the world. Figures such as the North Pole explorer Robert E. Peary, or the man who discovered the city of Machu Pichu, Hiram Bingham, as well as those who are closer to our contemporary period. This is the case of the primatologists Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey; the oceanographer and marine archaeologist who discovered the remains of the Titanic, Robert Ballard; film-maker James Cameron; Spanish marine biologist, Enric Sala; and the recent winner of the 2018 Princess of Asturias Award, also a marine biologist, Sylvia Earle.
"A Window to the World. 130 Years of National Geographic" shows not only the history of the Society and its legacy, but also the evolution of an institution that has been capable of adapting to the times, and to vary the definitions of its main missions according to the demands of the said missions. Although when it started out the goal of the 33 founders was to explore the geography of the world and search for places that were still unknown to man, the challenges have varied according to the times to accommodate other priorities. Geography has given way to exploration of other worlds: space, with articles and documentaries about NASA missions and unknown universes such as Mars, and the oceans, the latest current frontier, source of life from the beginning of our planet, and one of the main conservation missions in order to guarantee the survival of our species. In the words of Sylvia Earle, "No Blue, No Green," in reference to how much we depend on the sustainability of the seabed in order to recover the environmental balance.
Through photographs, videos, and iconic objects, the exhibition delves into these issues, presented in five sections, through which we will learn more about the early days, but especially about the present and future of National Geographic, its missions and their meaning. Visitors will begin their journey in Terra incognita, where we celebrate the birth of the Society and the age of expeditions. In Origin, visitors will learn about the explorations that have contributed to discovering our development as a species. In De Profundis, we propose a look at this essential underwater world, with the presence of the Pristine Project, the mission set up by Enric Sala in 2008 to explore the last wild underwater enclaves. In The Future at Stake we look towards space, but also to the challenges that we have as a species to reverse the degradation of our natural environment, and finally, the Coexistence section shows us other challenges that National Geographic also currently addresses, such as gender and racial diversity in our global society, the most relevant issues of the present.
The exhibition A Window to the World. 130 Years of National Geographic is on at the Espacio Telefónica in Madrid (Fuencarral, 3) until February 24th, 2019.
Through photographs, videos, and iconic objects, the exhibition delves into these issues, presented in five sections, through which we will learn more about the early days, but especially about the present and future of National Geographic, its missions and their meaning. Visitors will begin their journey in Terra incognita, where we celebrate the birth of the Society and the age of expeditions. In Origin, visitors will learn about the explorations that have contributed to discovering our development as a species. In De Profundis, we propose a look at this essential underwater world, with the presence of the Pristine Project, the mission set up by Enric Sala in 2008 to explore the last wild underwater enclaves. In The Future at Stake we look towards space, but also to the challenges that we have as a species to reverse the degradation of our natural environment, and finally, the Coexistence section shows us other challenges that National Geographic also currently addresses, such as gender and racial diversity in our global society, the most relevant issues of the present.
The exhibition A Window to the World. 130 Years of National Geographic is on at the Espacio Telefónica in Madrid (Fuencarral, 3) until February 24th, 2019.
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