For World Otter Day, Kirpal Antonio Rodriguez Ceballos and Fundacion Pal will host a cross-border community celebration in Palmarí, on the Peru–Brazil frontier, bringing together three riverine communities. Through art, sport and storytelling the event will celebrate the Giant otter to encourage conversation about co-existence and the benefits of their conservation along the Yavarí River. Together with local schools, children will prepare and perform a theatre the relationship between fishermen and giant otters, addressing potential conflicts. Children will create otter masks using recycled materials to perform for their community. The celebration will also include a football tournament, a communal meal (sancocho), and a Giant Otter Vocalization Contest linked to our long-term passive acoustic monitoring research. Prizes will consist of donated items from Bogotá to promote community engagement and wildlife conservation in the region.

This event will strengthen social ties between neighbouring Peruvian and Brazilian communities that share the Yavarí River and its tributaries. The event will look at focussing on potential conflicts between the Giant otter and communities and create a peaceful co-existence.

This World Otter Day event will be an awareness and capacity-building workshop involving students from the Department of Zoology, university of Azad Kashmir and staff from the Wildlife and Forest Departments. The workshop will focus on the conservation importance of the Otters and their habitat in Pakistan. Activities will include talks, presentations, and interactive sessions on otter ecology, threats, and conservation challenges.

A short documentary in the local language will be produced and screened to raise awareness among students. This event will help build collaboration among students, researchers, and conservation professionals to promote otter and wetland conservation efforts.

The event will increase awareness and understanding of the otter and its conservation importance among students, wildlife, and forest staff and will strengthen collaboration between universities and government departments for future conservation actions. By engaging participants from zoology departments, wildlife, and forest staff, the event will build local capacity and inspire youth involvement in otter research and habitat protection.

For this event Laura Fasola will organise a number of educational activities in local schools to introduce the huillín (Southern River Otter) to communities near areas where the species is recovering after six decades. Through short talks, interactive games and art activities, participants will learn about the huillín, other native species, and invasive species in the area. Children will explore the huillín’s habitat, ecological importance, current threats, and the need for its conservation. We will also take part in open community talks in both localities to share updates on the species’ recovery and present our work.

In these two locations where the event will take place, the species has been present for less than five years so it is still largely unknown among residents. As it is expanding its distribution, it is crucial to raise awareness about its presence and ways of preserving it. The event aims to familiarise local communities with the huillín so that participants leave with a clear understanding of what species it is, how to recognize it and how to contribute to its conservation. If the species continues expanding its range in these areas, it is essential that local people already know about it, welcome its presence and become its guardian.

The Otter Fishing Community Foundation and the SM Sultan Children’s Art and Craft Foundation, are planning a special four-day awareness and cultural event to celebrate World Otter Day at the traditional otter-fishing community village of Goailbari in Narail. The initiative aims to conserve the threatened otters, protect river and aquatic ecosystems, and showcase the centuries-old tradition of fishing with trained otters. The event will be held at five key village locations and will be attended by national and international delegates, environmental experts, government and NGO representatives, fishing families, youth and students. The programme will include awareness meetings, seminars, art and otter photo exhibitions, film screenings, traditional scroll painting, Baul folk songs and live demonstrations of otter-assisted fishing.

The World Otter Day celebration will raise awareness among local otter-fishing communities, youth, and children about the ecological importance of threatened otters, healthy river systems, and aquatic biodiversity. Through seminars, community dialogues, exhibitions, and interactive learning activities, participants will explore how otter and river conservation can support environmental sustainability and the livelihoods of traditional fishing families. The participation of national and international experts, conservationists, and organisations will encourage collaboration, knowledge exchange, research initiatives, and opportunities for eco-cultural tourism, supporting sustainable community development.