Jackson Wild

JACKSON WILD IS A CATALYST FOR INSPIRING DEEPER CONNECTIONS TO THE NATURAL WORLD. THROUGH OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF PASSIONATE STORYTELLERS AND CHANGE AGENTS, JACKSON WILD ELEVATES DIVERSE STORIES THAT ILLUMINATE OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO THE WILD. THROUGH INNOVATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY GATHERINGS, SKILL-BUILDING INITIATIVES AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS, JACKSON WILD CREATES AN INCLUSIVE FORUM FOR DIVERSE STORYTELLERS TO MORE DEEPLY ILLUMINATE CONNECTIONS TO THE NATURAL WORLD AND OUR COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY TO SUSTAINABLY RESTORE AND PROTECT OUR PLANET IN THE FACE OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS.

THE ANNUAL JACKSON WILD? SUMMIT BRINGS TOGETHER AN UNCOMMON COMMUNITY, BOUND BY A SHARED SENSE OF PURPOSE: WE BELIEVE IN THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF STORY TO INSPIRE AWE AT THE WONDERS OF OUR NATURAL WORLD AND IGNITE CRITICAL CHANGES REQUIRED TO RESTORE AND PROTECT OUR PLANET?S ECOSYSTEMS AND SPECIES THROUGH HIGH-IMPACT GLOBAL COLLABORATIONS. BECAUSE OF COVID-19 TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS, THE 2020 SUMMIT WAS PRESENTED AS A LIVE-STREAMED INTERACTIVE EVENT FOR 1000+ INTERNATIONAL. FELLOWS PROGRAMS WERE CREATED TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND MENTORSHIP FOR FILMMAKERS TO ACCELERATE DIVERSITY WITHIN OUR INDUSTRY COMMUNITY WITH REGARD TO RACE, GENDER, CULTURE, SOCIOECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY, AND DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE. THESE 40+ FELLOWSHIPS PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMERGING SCIENCE AND NATURE MEDIA LEADERS IN UNIQUE PROGRAMS THAT DIRECTLY CONNECTED THEM WITH THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CONTENT CREATORS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE. ACTION COALITIONS TASKED WITH BRAINSTORMING SOLUTIONS-BASED STRATEGIES TO CHALLENGES FACING OUR INDUSTRY CONVENED IN THE WEEKS PRIOR TO THE SUMMIT, PRESENTING RESULTS IN ?TOWN HALL? DISCUSSIONS DURING THE CONFERENCE PROGRAMMING.

THE JACKSON WILD MEDIA LAB IS AN IMMERSIVE, CROSS-DISCIPLINARY SCIENCE FILM MAKING WORKSHOP THAT BRINGS SCIENTISTS AND MEDIA CREATORS TOGETHER TO LEARN FROM LEADERS IN THE PROFESSION AND WORK TOGETHER TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE TOOLS TO COMMUNICATE ABOUT SCIENCE, NATURE AND CONSERVATION WITH DIVERSE AUDIENCES ACROSS THE WORLD?S EVOLVING MEDIA PLATFORMS. TWELVE FELLOWS WERE SELECTED FROM 220 GLOBAL APPLICANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RIGOROUS WORKSHOP ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE ANNUAL SUMMIT, WITH PROJECTS PRESENTED LIVE TO INTERNATIONAL COMMISSIONERS AND STREAMED AUDIENCES. JACKSON WILD KENYA MEDIA LAB PARTICIPANTS CONVENED IN THE MAASAI MARA TO CREATE THREE SHORT FILMS THAT SCREENED ONLINE IN ASSOCIATION WITH WILD ON TOUR. THE WILD WOMEN MEDIA LAB PROVIDED CAMERA KIT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTRUCTION FOR 10 WOMEN FROM SEVEN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. MASTERCLASSES AND WORKSHOPS TARGETING SPECIFIC SKILLS AND TOPICS WERE CREATED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE JW MENTORSHIP PROGRAM PAIRED 70+ MENTEES WITH SKILLED TOPIC-SPECIFIC MENTORS EACH QUARTER, CREATING ONE-ON-ONE AND GROUP NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES DURING ONLINE MEETUPS. ALL FRONTIERS PROGRAMMING AND TRAININGS ARE OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE.

FOR TWO MONTHS, FINALISTS AND FEATURED FILMS PRESENTED DURING THE ANNUAL JACKSON WILD SUMMIT WERE AVAILABLE FOR ON DEMAND SCREENINGS FOR DELEGATES. WILD ON TOUR AIMS TO SHARE THE BEST WILDLIFE, NATURE & SCIENCE FILMS FROM ITS FILM COMPETITIONS TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE IN FREE, EDUCATIONAL SCREENINGS AROUND THE WORLD. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNITED NATIONS, US STATE DEPARTMENT, THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, WITH MORE THAN 1000 EMBASSIES, UNIVERSITIES, SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, NGOS AND OTHER PARTNER FILM FESTIVALS, WILD ON TOUR SCREENINGS WERE PRESENTED TO 200,000+ PEOPLE IN 60+ COUNTRIES IN RIGHTS-FREE EDUCATIONAL SCREENING OPPORTUNITIES. IN ADDITION, JHWFF PARTNERED WITH UN/CITIES TO CREATE THE INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY FILM SHOWCASE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH WORLD WILDLIFE DAY. UN WORLD WILDLIFE DAY FILM SHOWCASE: BIODIVERSITY-- CELEBRATING WORLD WILDLIFE DAY. IN A WORLD CONFRONTING UNPRECEDENTED ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS, IS ESSENTIAL TO EMPOWER LOCALLY-DRIVEN ENGAGEMENT THAT INSPIRES ACTION, WITH MEASURABLE IMPACT. THE WORLD WILDLIFE DAY FILM SHOWCASE IS A KEY PART OF WORLDWIDE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS TO EMPOWER ACTION AND INSPIRE A SENSE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY/STEWARDSHIP FOR MARINE SPECIES CONSERVATION AND IN CREATING AN EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. WINNERS WERE ANNOUNCED AT A HIGH-LEVEL LIVE-STREAMED EVENT CELEBRATING THE LAUNCH OF WORLD WILDLIFE DAY, ON TUESDAY, MARCH 3. PARTNER SHOWCASE EVENTS WERE PRESENTED AT THE WILD SANTIAGO FILM FESTIVAL IN AUGUST AND THE NATURE AND WILDLIFE FILMMAKERS (NEWF) CONGRESS IN OCTOBER.