Earlier in January National Geographic announced it is launching a program is calls Field Ready. The objective is to promote diversity and inclusion behind cameras for unscripted Natural History Productions and projects. The program is proposed to benefit a new generation of people interested in working behind the camera.
Nat Geo has now announced the first class of the Field Ready program from around the world. National Geographic Global Television Networks President Courteney Monroe who made the announcement also said: “I am very proud to welcome the first class of National Geographic’s Field Ready Program.”
“This program is designed to help foster the next generation of world-class natural history storytellers, a genre that has long and notably lacked diverse talent behind the camera.”
The individuals are from different filmmaking fields, four among them are Africans which includes one Nigerian, Ifeatu Nnaobi. Other nationalities on the list are the U.S, Philipines, Afganistan, Brazil and Columbia.
- Kiki Cheptoo Ng’ok
- Mauro Sergio Francisco
- Tamana Ayazi
- Gab Mejia
- Gena Steffens
- Tessa “Ellie” Eleonore Schmidt
- Daniel Gustavo von Sperling de Vasconcellos Venturini
- Ifeatu Nnaobi
- Juan Arias
- Maurice Oniang’o
Nat Geo partnered with National Geographic Society in choosing the 10 individuals and this will be repeated yearly. The class will hinge on mentorship as the new intakes train to join members of production teams.
Training will take place in two phases – six months of digital training and a one-week boot camp that will take place in Washington, D.C.
The trainees will afterwards be will placed on Nat Geo productions around the world while working with a wider production community.
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