Cameras, Kids and Conservation
You cannot love what you have never seen.
So how will we save Africa’s wildlife and wild places if there is a complete disconnect with local communities?
Wild Shots Outreach is an award-winning South African NGO. Its aim is to engage previously disadvantaged young Africans in wildlife and conservation through photography. The programme prioritizes government high school students and unemployed youngsters living adjacent to Africa’s National Parks. Despite living within a few kilometres of Protected Areas, these young people have never visited a wilderness area before or seen wildlife at first-hand.
Wild Shots Outreach is ‘flipping the script’, inspiring and developing young black conservation photography champions. Its students are now winning major international photography awards and featuring on global platforms.
www.wildshotsoutreach.org
- Duration: 30 min
Date
- 29 Feb 2024
- Expired!
Time
- 12:15
Speakers
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Mike KendrickMike Kendrick, Founder and Director of Wild Shots Outreach (WSO), leads an award-winning South African NGO dedicated to wildlife conservation education through photography. With over 35 years of expertise, Mike engages disadvantaged youth in photo workshops and game drives, fostering connections to Africa’s wildlife. Through the Bursary Fund, WSO supports unemployed youth in the wildlife and media sectors. Mike’s proudest achievement is empowering over 1200 young Africans to connect with their natural heritage, with many now recognized internationally and employed in conservation and tourism.
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Rifumo MathebulaRifumo Mathebula, Program Director of Wild Shots Outreach (WSO), spearheads an award-winning NPO teaching wildlife and conservation through photography to young Africans in rural communities. Raised near Kruger National Park, he never experienced its iconic wildlife until a WSO course in 2016 transformed his life. Having taught over 600 young people, Rifumo’s impactful work earned him recognition, including the International Young Environmentalist of the Year award in 2022 and a spot among the ’30 under 30′ Global Environmental Education Leaders in 2023.
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Karabo MagakaneKarabo Magakane, Wild Shots Outreach’s Assistant Programme Leader & Pilot, found transformation through photography after a WSO course in Feb 2020. Assisting with assignments and community programs, she aspires to fly for conservation. With a pilot’s license secured through the WSO Bursary Fund, Karabo aims for her Commercial License. An international ambassador for “Girls Who Click,” she strives to change narratives through the lens, breaking ground in aviation and photography, inspiring young South Africans to pursue their dreams.
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Melody MnisiMelody Mnisi, WSO Assistant Programme Leader & Safari Guide, discovered her passion for photography through the Wild Shots Outreach program in 2022. This experience ignited her love for nature. Supported by the WSO Bursary Programme, Melody pursued her dream of becoming a safari guide, achieving her FGASA Level 1 guide training in May 2023. As one of the few female black field guides in South Africa, she now guides at Koru Camp, inspiring young Africans, especially women, to believe in the limitless possibilities of their dreams.
