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Three lucky winners were awarded exciting national park getaways at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) headquarters, February 2, 2021, for participating in and winning a competition, jointly sponsored by KWS and Canon Central and North Africa.
In attendance at the ceremony - some via Zoom, in adherence to Covid19 protocols – were the KWS Director General, Brig (Rtd.) John Waweru; Director Parks and Reserves, Prof. Charles Musyoki; Sales and Marketing Director, Canon Central and North Africa, Amine Djouahra; Canon Country Manager, Valentine Cherotich; and media personality and social media influencer, Larry Asego, among others.
Addressing the winners and sponsors present, KWS DG expressed pleasure at the success of the partnership, which commenced in 2020. “Even though the tourism sector has been hit quite significantly by the Covid19 pandemic, KWS has made concerted efforts to revitalize its performance by strengthening existing partnerships with stakeholders and forming new partnerships and connections for the sake of wildlife,” he said.
Brig. Waweru spoke about the recently-launched digital marketing campaign dubbed #ZurunaKWS, aimed at showcasing Kenya’s national parks with a view to encouraging the growth of domestic tourism. The #Zuru campaign was necessitated by the coronavirus-related travel restrictions on international flights and corresponding fall in international tourist numbers.
“In keeping with the spirit of creative collaborations boosting powerful partnerships, KWS and Canon launched the ‘Twende Porini Na Canon’ campaign, whose three-pronged objective was to promote Canon products and reward its customers; promote its partnership with KWS to highlight the country’s national parks and conservation efforts, and to use the power of visual storytelling to boost this initiative,” the DG said.
DG explained the significance of to KWS of World Wetlands Day, commemorated every February 2nd, stating that its observance is aimed at getting the public to stop the destruction of wetlands, avoid over-damming of rivers and over-extraction from aquifers, addressing pollution and integrating water and wetlands into development plans and resource management.
Brig. Waweru said that the relationship between KWS and Canon can also be extended to include the six Kenyan wetlands listed under the Ramsar Convention as wetlands of international importance, namely; Lakes Nakuru, Naivasha, Bogoria, Baringo, Elementaita and the Tana Delta. “Kenya’s marine parks and reserves also stand to gain from Twende Porini na Canon due to the impact that powerful pictures and videos have in visual storytelling,” DG said, adding that such partnerships underscore how partnerships and collaborations are the foundation of building awareness so that future generations inherit our rich biodiversity.
Brig. Waweru appreciated the three hundred thousand Kenya shillings donation from Canon to KWS, stating that he looked forward to enhanced collaboration. In closing, DG heartily congratulated all the winners and participants of the #TwendePorini campaign.
Canon Sales and Marketing Director Amine Djouahra, who joined the ceremony virtually, stated that Canon started its African journey believing in the vast potential of the uniqueness of the nature and wildlife that abounds on the continent, with no better place than Kenya to showcase this diversity.
The pandemic’s unprecedented impact on tourism caused Canon to ponder how they could contribute in supporting local communities. What better way was there than to use the unique stories captured in raising awareness and gaining more support?” he asked.
Mr. Amine thanked KWS management for being a willing partner, saying that the campaign was launched across selected outlets in Kenya. He spoke about Canon’s local content creation program, meant to support several digital campaigns which will enhance conservation awareness.
The renowned Master of Ceremony Larry Asego explained how his team of five social media influencers visited different parks and created content for sharing to the world on their platforms, aimed at raising awareness of their destinations and driving visitor traffic into KWS parks and reserves.
The award ceremony saw three winners receive packages of a holiday for two at Tsavo West, Aberdares and Amboseli National Parks, respectively. In addition, three surprise gifts consisting of prints done by Canon were given to partners, including Text Book Centre, Sona Shop and Cameras Africa.
