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Written by Dr. Paula Kahumu, CEO of WildlifeDirect and producer and presenter of Wildlife Warriors
Wildlife Warriors breaks new floor as the primary TV wildlife documentary collection made by Africans, about Africans and for Africans. Our aim is to shine a light-weight on Africa’s unsung conservation heroes to encourage a brand new era of conservationists to comply with their instance. 
The collection is the brainchild of my group, Kenya-based WildlifeDirect. Season 1 featured 14 superb heroines and heroes engaged on the entrance line of wildlife conservation. It was first aired on Kenyan media big Citizen TV in 2019, reaching 51% of the inhabitants, and has since been re-broadcast a number of instances in Kenya, in addition to being made accessible on streaming companies to viewers in 26 African nations and the world over. Season 2 is extra formidable, with larger manufacturing values. It was launched in Kenya earlier this yr and has already received 4 worldwide awards on the Worldwide Wildlife Movies Competition (IWFF) and Pridelands Movie Competition (PWFF), whose judging panel recommended Wildlife Warriors “for its contributions to altering behaviour, altering the narrative and empowering the following era of filmmakers and wildlife protectors”. At IWFF, the episode on defending elephants in northern Kenya “The Royal Elephants of Samburu” received The Finest Youth Program award, whereas your entire Wildlife Warriors was awarded Finest Sequence. The third prize was the Particular Jury award awarded to me for my contribution throughout the subject of wildlife tv and for serving as a job mannequin for Wildlife Warriors’ viewers of school-aged kids and past. Wildlife Warriors is the one wildlife documentary collection made in Africa by Africans for an African viewers. At PWFF, The whole Wildlife Warrior collection received the Particular Jury award.
Wildlife Warriors is a celebration of African creativity and enterprise. In Season 2 we meet African scientists pushing the boundaries of scientific analysis, communities who’ve banded collectively to create new protected areas, tribal elders defending sacred forests, and fisherfolk restoring dying coral reefs.
Audiences in Kenya have responded enthusiastically. The applications have impressed them to go to nationwide parks to see the wildlife featured within the episodes for themselves, to have interaction with the problems by discovering out extra and signing petitions, and to take motion to enhance their native setting. 1000’s of youngsters have joined Wildlife Warriors Children golf equipment in colleges, the place, along with classroom actions based mostly round TV collection, membership members work together with nature via visits to Nationwide Parks and observing native wildlife. The golf equipment additionally perform revolutionary initiatives of their communities, together with tree planting and waste recycling schemes
The collection has introduced new recognition to the conservation heroes featured within the episodes, serving to to extend native assist for his or her initiatives and entice extra funding. Heroes featured in Season 1 have received prestigious worldwide awards and scholarships for postgraduate examine at main universities and analysis institutes.
Wildlife Warriors can also be reworking the African filmmaking panorama. After we began, African wildlife filmmakers had been skinny on the bottom, and we struggled to search out and prepare a crew. The success of the collection has stimulated monumental curiosity in wildlife documentaries amongst African broadcasters and movie manufacturing corporations, and now worldwide producers are investing in coaching African expertise. The demand for African-made wildlife movies shouldn’t be restricted to Kenya and that’s why WildlifeDirect is at the moment working in 5 African nations on one other collection which might be launched later this yr.
We’re tremendously excited to be in Kigali, Rwanda for the Africa Protected Areas Congress to showcase our work to our brothers and sisters from throughout the continent. Episodes had been screened at varied venues at APAC. WildlifeDirect’s fundamental occasion was in room AD11 on the twentieth of July. We additionally screened on the Conservation Alliance of Kenya (CAK) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Kenya pavilions on Tuesday nineteenth and Friday twenty second of July respectively. Contributors may contact us to get entry to look at the collection on-line. It’s our hope that very quickly Rwandans will be capable of take pleasure in each seasons of Wildlife Warriors on Rwandan TV. We additionally hope to incorporate Rwandan conservation heroes in Season 3, which we might love to provide in partnership with Rwandan filmmakers, to showcase the nation’s excellent conservation successes.
For extra info, please attain out to:
Carol Ng’ang’a, Communications Supervisor Carol@wildlifedirect.org OR Trish Sewe, Chief of Social gathering Psewe@wildlifedirect.org
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