We had an ambitious vision for the Bahari Yetu Festival 2024, and we’re thrilled to announce that it was a massive success! Our goal was to host workshops and a dynamic, two-day celebration of the ocean and its guardians.
Here’s how it all unfolded:
The Plan
This year we had BIG plans:
Two-Day Ocean Festival:
Uvuvi Day: Fisheries and Sustainable Livelihoods Festival Day
Watoto Day: Ocean Festival Day for Kids
Three Workshops:
Matata & Friends in the Mangroves: An interactive puppet performance and interviews with mangrove conservation heroes to create an episode for their TV show
Achievements
The entire festival is run on sponsorship and although we didn’t manage to raise funds for the Matata & Friends episode or the Ocean Literacy Training this year, we successfully supported both festival days, the Film Lab, and the Photography Workshop. These events created meaningful connections between our communities and the ocean, fostering a love for marine conservation in the next generation.
Photography Workshop with TonyWild
Empowering young people to become ocean conservationists through photography was a highlight of this year’s festival. In partnership with TonyWild’s Visual Ecological Literacy Program (VELP) we ran a five-day course from August 19th to 23rd, 2024, bringing together 20 youth aged between 13-24 years from 4 of the Lamu Archipelago's islands.
The objectives of the workshop were:
Education: Teaching youth about conservation photography as a tool for raising awareness of wildlife and environmental issues.
Skill Development: Providing technical skills needed to address environmental challenges while encouraging creativity.
Empowerment: Enabling youth to share their narratives through photography exhibitions, reaching a wider audience and inspiring others.
Recognition: Creating opportunities for young people to engage in conservation, and recognising their efforts at local and national levels.
This workshop, generously funded by the Portuguese Embassy, culminated in awards and certificates presented to the students at the Bahari Yetu Festival.
Want to dive deeper into their incredible journey? Check out the blog post!
Storytelling & Cinematography Lab with NEWF
We partnered with NEWF to host a the first Cinematography and Storytelling Lab in Lamu. Leading up to the Bahari Yetu Festival five passionate creatives from the Lamu Archipelago were not only mentored through storytelling and film development, they were also tasked with producing a short film about the local community’s connection to the ocean or environment. Working through online story development sessions in September, followed by the in-person sessions in early October with mentors from NEWF. During the 5 days leading up to the festival the fellows filmed, edited, and delivered their final film, which was proudly screened at the festival. The result was the beautiful film 'Ntanga', about the impact of sand harvesting, and it is currenlty going through local screenings on Lamu.
Keep an eye on our upcoming blog post for more insights into this creative journey!
The Bahari Yetu Festival
As well as additional workshops, this year the festival grew too!
It was marked the introduction of the Uvuvi Day, focused around Fisheries and Sustainable Livelihoods, and it was a resounding success. Sponsored attendance of over 200 community members from about 18 Beach Management Units (BMUs) spread across 5 islands and the Lamu County mainland. The day featured stalls of local conservtaion organistaions, performances from Lamu Arts & Theatre, interactive BMU role plays, local dances, a panel of respected elder fishermen and even a prize-giving ceremony to recognise community achievements in sustainable fisheries. It was a day of celebration and acknowledgment of the hard work being done by these coastal communities as well as showcasing the work LaMCoT is doing for the Kinyika Joint Co-Managed Marine Area (JCMA).
For the third year running, we dedicated an entire day to the kids, the Watoto Day! Once again, over 360 children from 18 schools across 4 islands in the Lamu Archipelago participated in a variety of beach games, including:
Zidau za Mwau (Model Dhow Race)
Magari ya Miti (Recycled Car Race/Tyre & Stick Race)
Sand Sculpture Competitions
The conservation art competition and interactive art activities brought out their creativity, while performances by local schools and talent shows lit up the festival with energy and joy.
Looking Forward
Bahari Yetu Festival 2024 was a remarkable success, despite the challenges of funding. The festival days were filled with learning, creativity, and community spirit, and the workshops have empowered a new generation of ocean champions.
We’re already excited about next year’s festival and look forward to growing these initiatives even further. Stay tuned for updates on our upcoming film screenings, photography exhibitions, blogs posts and more ways we can make waves for marine conservation together!
We would also like to give a huge thanks to our partner East African Ocean Explorers and all our generous sponsors, without whom the fetsival could not have happened.
Find out who supported us and more on the Bahari Yetu Festival Page.