To build the future, we must look to the past. In a long-anticipated exchange between NEWF and DWP, we had the opportunity to welcome these divers who are part of the African diaspora, home.

African representation (throughout the diaspora) has been recolouring the recreational and professional dive industries. So, what happens when you’ve been diving for ten (10) years - would being called an athlete feel out-of-body? NEWF fellow Megan-Rose grapples with this very reality as we speak.

Dr.Aristide Takoukam Kamla and eight (8) prospective open water SCUBA divers from Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal were welcomed to eKhaya Storytelling, Research and Dive Centre in Sodwana Bay. Straight off accepting a highly acclaimed Whitley Award for Nature, he shares how a small Weevil helped Lake Ossa breathe again.

#NEWF2024 is a whirlwind that starts our community's year and sets it on a busy course to bring ideas to life and keep the momentum created through networking, inspired dialogue and interactive learning at large. But this year was different. Word on the street is that it was our best yet - with more impact on the horizon.

Our mission has always been to create strong communities for storytellers, conservationists, and scientists to help each other grow and take up space. At NEWF, we have watched this community grow from one group of fellows pitching their films in 2017, to more than 200 fellows from more than 25 African countries. If only these walls could talk!

A Marine Biologist by profession, this emerging documentary filmmaker, foodie and NEWF fellow known as TJ is peeling back layers on and off-screen. More than the sum of her achievements and the brief bios sprinkled across the internet; her vision runs deep - tempered by a sober practicality that leaves all who she encounters with a new perspective.

Noel Kok is a man of passion and energetic ideas for changing the narrative of Africa. One way Noel seeks to do this is by providing access to the ocean through a series of programmes called NEWF Dive LABS. These programmes offer access to Africans who may have not had the ability nor the access to experience the ocean in a way that one can only dream of.

For a person who had been longing to learn how to dive, the NEWF Dive and Story Lab could not have come at a better time. To begin with, diving is a necessary skill for anyone studying or working in the marine field - I have been part of a team of researchers, community members, and other stakeholders working to restore degraded coral reefs, amongst other things. To make it even better, storytelling and filmmaking were a part of this too!

When I found myself being invited to the NEWF Wildlife Cinematography Lab in partnership with RED Digital Cinema and Wildlife Society of Filmmakers for a 4 Day REDucation Workshop, how could I not drop everything and anything to take part in this experience?! Especially when the Mission of NEWF has always been so clear ‘to remove the barriers to entry and build capacity to enable access, support inclusion and create a culture of equity”. So, I packed my bags, boarded the plane and uttered my mantra as I prepared and made the intention to always keep my eye on the goal post.

Diving. A word that seems very foreign to a number of Tanzanians, particularly those on the mainland. The first reaction of many when I told them I was going to film two young Tanzanian men learning how to dive was “Tanzanians diving? How and why?”

I'm not a musician but I have been through the musical training ground of at least 80% of the world’s most famous musicians - the church band! I got over my imposter syndrome by remembering that as a storyteller, I have often needed the help of music and sound to say what my visuals and my words could not say.

An African orchestra is at play on the coast of St Lucia. Overlooking the lush green coastal Isimangaliso Marine park, a group of selected African performers have come together to create a fusion of African sounds to ignite composition and musical scoring for film and trailer soundtracks.