eThekwini Blue Economy Week
Last week, the NEWF Community took to Durban’s beachfront to participate in the eThekwini Blue Economy Week where Pragna Parsotam-Kok (Co-Founder and Executive Director of NEWF) went live on air with Cape Talk and Radio 702 to talk about the NEWF Community and how our access work fits into the Blue Economy conversation.
Celebrating Impact Filmmakers at the 2024 Jackson Wild Media Awards
The Jackson Wild Media Awards is one of the most prestigious in the nature and wildlife world. What makes Jackson Wild special is a sense of community seldom found at this scale in the nature and wildlife industry. Straight out of FAME Week, Noel and Pragna flew to Washington D.C. to attend the ceremony and present a Lifetime Achievement Award to the legendary impact filmmaker and conservationist, Mike Pandey.
And that’s a wrap on our first FAME Week!
FAME Week has been a whirlwind sharing NEWF’s programs and impact with visitors at our booth, in our sessions and during one-on-one exchanges. From VR and film catalogues to unpacking labs and our Africa Refocused program; we are energised by the support for our vision, mission and an equitable future for African Storytellers.
HER | Story: wambui waweru on finding a new stride and story
Wambui Waweru’s place with NEWF is easily not always easily defined. A tangle of creativity moving swiftly and slowly as at once, her role is to offer an inspired, value-aligned narrative structure to the NEWF Story Lab programs; to develop and refine curricula, and work closely with cohorts to develop stories, craft shooting scripts, offer insightful feedback and contribute to the collective learning that inevitably accompanies the marketing and distribution phase of films. But what positions this talented and poised Kenyan writer, voice artist and mother to harness a nuanced, almost delicate dance of navigating NEWF’s growing catalogue of African films, redefining the lens through which Africa is seen? It certainly is not hot, defining terms like frameworks and curricula.
HER|Story: Shaping and inspiring impact and storytelling across Africa
The women in the NEWF community are among the women across the continent showing up as the leaders, change-makers, and community cornerstones we have needed in our time. As the climate crisis intensifies, and intersectional social justice and impact movements rise to challenge the ways of the world; these women are meeting each challenge with passion, determination, and insurmountable fortitude - advocating for our access, expertise, and right to choose, the equity to lead, and to simply show up as ourselves while reimagining a better, more inclusive future for all people.