Kennedy Gitau also known as Ken is an Animated Content Creator from Nairobi Kenya. His first love for art is in the form of cartoons. He fell in love with wildlife after volunteering at WildlifeDirect, where he learnt about wildlife and found that he had a knack for watering down complex topics like the Wildlife Act 2013. He went on to make short explainer videos filled with puns and humor and noted that kids loved them and learnt much from them than conventional books. Since then, he has dedicated his life to using this artform to educate kids on wildlife using cartoons and humor, to make young people, especially kids care.
This month’s feature spotlight’s Ken’s journey using animated content creation for wildlife conservation education and advocacy in Kenya.
I always had a love for drawing and art since childhood, but I fell in love in with animation at the age of 8 after someone brought home a DVD CD that had behind the scenes of Finding Nemo. From there I knew I would be doing animation for a living.
I finally pitched a kids explainer filler show and was accepted at Zuku kids. It was during the season breaks that I looked for somewhere to use my talents and stumbled upon a radio interview on XFM where the renowned conservationist Dr. Paula Kahumbu was discussing one of her campaigns #HandsOffOurElephants and enquired how I could volunteer towards the cause using my skills. I volunteered to illustrate the 2013 Wildlife Act using cartoons.
When an opportunity arose at Wildlifedirect for a Communications assistant, I applied and got on board. It is here that I learnt about wildlife and conservation activities in Kenya. I felt that children and young people were often left out in the way conservation stories were told. The mainstream documentaries lacked the entertainment value I’d seen in other mainstream shows such as Spongebob and figured I could weave the same stories with a little humor and off-the-cuff puns.
I managed to make a pilot for an animated TV series dubbed I AM MBOGO, which was selected as one of the winning films at NEWF and was funded to make the pilot.
Using your gifts to help protect our planet and its wildlife has got to be one of the most rewarding callings out there – of course it wont be easy, but keep doing what you do.
Ken Gitau
ANIMATED CONTENT CREATOR
How do you balance creating content that is both educational and entertaining? What’s your process for making sure kids are engaged while still learning important concepts?
Oof, this is where it gets tricky. Luckily, I have a knack for watering down complex scientific facts to visible illustrations. I find that using round eyes are easy to express emotion, even in inanimate things such as trees and rocks. 🙂
In your opinion, why is it important to engage kids in wildlife conservation from a young age, and how can art and humor play a role in this?
”Samaki mkunje angali mbichi” (You can only bend the fish when wet) – The Swahili saying goes. Meaning that inculcating ideas, behavior and concern is best done when young. If at all we intend to bring behavior change and concern for wildlife, we MUST include children in the way we communicate wildlife stories.
How do you hope your work will impact the next generation’s understanding of and passion for wildlife and environmental conservation?
I hope to use my gifts in art and storytelling to soon make a mainstream TV show that will not only entertain, but rid young people of the distance they feel towards wildlife conservation and their habitats as well. Also create an awareness of the impact of what we do, eg. Plastic straws, littering etc. on the habitats where these wild animals live.
What are your future plans for expanding the reach of your wildlife education content? Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you are particularly excited about?
I currently still have the pilot to my TV series and a kids coloring book on wildlife which am looking for collaborations out there to hopefully get them off the ground.
If you could give one piece of advice to young African artists or environmental educators looking to use their creative talents for environmental education and awareness what would it be?
Keep at it, don’t stop (ipo siku). Using your gifts to help protect our planet and its wildlife has got to be one of the most rewarding callings out there – of course it wont be easy, but keep doing what you do.
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