Each spring we catalyse conservation action by inviting new Whitley Award winners to London for training, networking and media opportunities. We look back on what happened during the 2022 Whitley Awards Week...
Each spring, new Whitley Award recipients are invited to London for the Whitley Awards Ceremony. While here, they attend media training and speech coaching, helping them to effectively communicatetheir work to an international audience and capitalise on the spotlight that results from their win (read our press coverage roundup). We also provide training in some of the core skills necessary for successful projectdelivery such as monitoring and evaluation, and hold networking events with funders, journalists, country Ambassadors and conservation NGOs – all contactsthey could partner with in future.
This year we had the privilege of spending a week with the 2022 Whitley Award winners: Charu, Dedy, Emmanuel, Estrela, Micaela, Pablo and Sonam. Here’s what happened:
On Monday, the 2022 Whitley Award finalists were interviewed by our Judging Panel – the last hurdle before they officially became winners! The Whitley Gold Award winner, Charudutt Mishra, joined the panel and will act as a mentor to the new cohort.That evening our new winners had the chance to meet our closest supporters, the Friends of WFN. Thank you to our generous host, WFN Trustee and Friends’ Committee Chair, Catherine Faulks.On Tuesday, Boffin Media ran training in TV, print and radio interview technique, to help everyone leverage the boost in profile they were about to receive when announced as Whitley Award winners. Thank you to our sponsors, HSBC.We squeezed in some sight-seeing along the River Thames on our way home.On Wednesday morning the winners received speech coaching from Olha Madylus, in preparation for the Whitley Awards Ceremony that evening.On Wednesday evening we gathered at the Royal Geographical Society for the Ceremony itself: the highlight of everyone’s week. It was incredible to be back in person for the first time in three years, and a huge thank you to those partners that made the event so special including Sea Change Wine, Mandy Duncan-Smith, Icon Films and Floating Harbour.The winners received their Whitley Awards from WFN Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, in front of a 400-strong audience with hundreds more people watching from around the world via our livestream.To wind down, we enjoyed a (Thurs)day out at the Natural History Museum.The winners also attended meetings at London’s Embassies, to garner support from their country Ambassadors. Dedy Yansyah, for example, met with the Indonesian Ambassador Desra Percaya.On Thursday evening, our Whitley Award winners had the opportunity to network with conservation NGOs and forge future partnerships. Wild salads came courtesy of our partners Urban Greens, with beer from Endangered Brewing. Thank you to WFN Friends Committee member Vanessa Kastner for hosting.On Friday morning the winners joined us at WFN’s office, to discuss the logistics of successful project delivery including reporting, monitoring and evaluation. After signing their contracts Micaela, Pablo, Emmanuel, Estrela, Sonam, Dedy and Charu (from left to right above) added their project locations to our official winner map!Later on Friday, the next generation took centre stage when winners met members of WFN NextGen – a new network of young people passionate about fundraising for grassroots conservation. Thank you to our hosts Urban Greens, as well as Endangered Brewing and Karma for providing drinks.Finally, after an incredibly busy but inspiring and fruitful few days, it was time for our farewell meal. The 2022 Whitley Award winners have formed bonds that will flourish well beyond the week. They also join a Winner Network of 200+ peers, with whom they can share future successes, failures and support. Congratulations, all!
“The theme for this year’s Whitley Awards is #OurLocalPlanet, in recognition that each of us, wherever we live, can take action for conservation; and that through these changes – no matter how large or seemingly small – our collective impact will be global.” Edward Whitley, OBE
