Watamu

In the beautiful coastal town of Watamu in Kenya, AFRISOS collaborated with PWFF, Kenya Wildlife Services, Bahari Hai, A Rocha Kenya, and Temple Point Resort to unite environmental enthusiasts of the local community. AFRISOS mentors guided mentees through a 6-day dynamic smartphone filmmaking lab. 

Through this program, mentees and mentors worked together to plot, capture, and edit two films, all in four days! At the end of the program, the film was locally screened so the community could be a part of this enlightening journey of grassroots storytelling, and the films were also screened during the Pridelands Wildlife Film Festival 2023.

Freshly “Before joining AFRISOS, I only knew basic photography that I used to capture images I post on social media. Through the peer to peer learning about storytelling, writing and capturing stories in their true form helped me have the courage to communicate better with the world. The media lab let me discover not only top of the range photography, but videography, directing, video & photo editing as things I can successfully practice. This will help me in my field of work; Education, and marketing and communications in conservation organizations.”

The mentees experienced the transformative power of the program. Having limited experience beyond basic social media photography, the participants gained valuable skills in storytelling, writing, capturing stories authentically, and utilizing videography, directing, and video editing. These newfound skills will be instrumental in their field of education and potentially open doors in marketing and communications for conservation organizations.