NEWF and Drik Picture Library Partner to Amplify African and South Asian Visual Storytellers

19 – 24 JANUARY 2025 | Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa

NEWF and Drik Picture Library are proud to share their recent four-day exchange workshop at the eKhaya Storytelling Centre, designed for skills exchange between storytellers in the nature and wildlife storytelling space from NEWF and their collaborators in Bangladesh. Focused on film and photography, this collaboration was designed to foster a transcontinental exchange of knowledge and experiences, creating a space where storytellers can share their challenges and successes to inspire learning and growth.

Our long-awaited collaboration with Drik Picture Library marks the beginning of a new season in storytelling. What we learnt and experienced this week was not only the power of photography and film for change but how these discussions inspire ideas for further collaboration.

// Noel kok
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEWF

This initiative stems from a shared commitment to capacity building for underrepresented storytellers. NEWF and Drik have a mutual vision to elevate the voices of storytellers native to the places they document, ensuring authentic perspectives drive the narratives of conservation stories. Exchanges like these will support equitable storytelling in nature and wildlife spaces globally, amplifying the impact of these stories on conservation and environmental justice.

We look towards a future where our global collaborations align with our core mission for capacity building and knowledge sharing at a tertiary education level. In line with this - and as this exchange grows - we are excited to start planning for a NEWF visit to the Drik and Pathshala facilities in Dhaka.

// Pragna-Parsotam-KOK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEWF

NEWF’s Executive Directors Noel Kok and Pragna Parsotam-Kok, who lead Africa Refocused, a collaboration with National Geographic Society, bring extensive expertise in conservation storytelling from the African continent. They are eager to continue sharing their knowledge with Drik’s community while learning about Drik’s photography program and picture library in relation to their growing focus on photography which aligns with NEWF’s Africa Refocused initiative, supporting photography workshops as a way of enhancing and diversifying its storytelling capacity.

What we’re looking at really is how NEWF has strength in film, we have strength in photography and journalism and we’re looking to find a fusion between the two. (…) And together perhaps, building something that encompasses the best of South Asia and Africa.

// Dr.Shahidul alam
Founder of the Drik Picture Library and the
Pathshala South Asian Media Institute

Drik, led by National Geographic Explorer at Large Dr. Shahidul Alam, has a rich history in photojournalism centred on social justice; this collaboration presents an opportunity to expand NEWF’s focus to environmental justice, highlighting critical issues such as human-wildlife coexistence, deforestation, and ocean conservation which have so far manifested through the medium of short documentary films. Drik also seeks to strengthen its film program and explore partnerships for underwater and top side wildlife storytelling, leveraging NEWF’s eKhaya Storytelling, Research and Dive Centre and the surrounding game reserves in South Africa.

Being a photographer and filmmaker is quite a big responsibility especially when you want to be the most honest possible because my vision as a filmmaker is to represent life as it is. I SEE journalism and storytelling as [the] same and common bubble which is actually the impact that we should and we would have on people through images.

// Inès Arsi
Filmmaker, NEWF FELLOW

This first exchange included a talented cohort of storytellers with diverse backgrounds with expertise that have enriched the exchange, fostering a dynamic environment for collaboration and mutual learning in the long term. The program included time spent in the field filming wildlife at Bayala Game Reserve, the exploration of  Kosi Bay’s magnificent mangroves and lake systems, and many layers of culturally enriching dialogue framing each cohort's passion, personal histories and local knowledge. 

For more information, please contact NEWF:
connect@newf.co.za