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 purpose is to shine a lightweight 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 occasions 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 bold, with greater 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 counseled Wildlife Warriors “for its contributions to altering behaviour, altering the narrative and empowering the subsequent era of filmmakers and wildlife protectors”. At IWFF, the episode on defending elephants in northern Kenya “The Royal Elephants of Samburu” received The Greatest Youth Program award, whereas the complete Wildlife Warriors was awarded Greatest 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 complete 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 interact with the problems by discovering out extra and signing petitions, and to take motion to enhance their native atmosphere. 1000’s of youngsters have joined Wildlife Warriors Youngsters golf equipment in faculties, the place, along with classroom actions primarily based round TV collection, membership members work together with nature by way of visits to Nationwide Parks and observing native wildlife. The golf equipment additionally perform modern 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 appeal to 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. Once we began, African wildlife filmmakers have been skinny on the bottom, and we struggled to search out and practice 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 is just not restricted to Kenya and that’s why WildlifeDirect is presently working in 5 African nations on one other collection which will probably 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 have been screened at numerous venues at APAC. WildlifeDirect’s principal 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 observe the collection on-line. It’s our hope that very quickly Rwandans will have the ability to get pleasure from 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 data, please attain out to:
Carol Ng’ang’a, Communications Supervisor Carol@wildlifedirect.org OR Trish Sewe, Chief of Celebration Psewe@wildlifedirect.org