During the Convention of Delegates, WILD11 will offer a few special sessions that will run for three days, March 23, 24, and 25. At the moment, these sessions — WildSpeak India and the Writers’ Sessions — will be available to delegates (at no additional cost) already registered for the Full 8-Day Congress, or for the Convention of Delegates. Space may be limited, and seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Additionally, we are thrilled to add an in-house Story Coach to our program this year to help you take your wild story projects to the next level. Award-winning storyteller and strategist Denise Withers will be available to work with organizations and individuals during WILD11 to provide support and guidance about all forms of storytelling. 

On the topic of  storytelling: WILD11 strives for maximum impact for our presenters and their important subjects and solutions. To assist this we created Powerful Storytelling Hacks, to assist presenters and delegates in maximizing their message. Please read, and feel free to download.

WildSpeak India

The International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) will present WildSpeak India during WILD11, March 23-25, 2020; a three-day conservation photography symposium. WildSpeak India will focus on visual storytelling as a tool to inspire empathy and action for conservation, and it will feature individual and group presentations from some of the most renowned conservation photographers, filmmakers and experts in the world including live presentations, workshops, exhibits, film screenings and more.

Programming will include four major themes:

1. India Through a Wild Lens – Presentations on the rich biodiversity, nature and wildlife of India with a special focus on threatened and endangered species;

2. Ethics, Empathy, and the Environment – Presentations will highlight ethical issues facing wildlife photographers and filmmakers including balancing the need to make high quality, compelling images and negatively impacting their subjects. For example, drones can be used to get strong storytelling visuals but many do not know the stress it can put on an animal.

3. Sustainability: Pros and Conservation – These sessions will look at myths and realities of widely-held views on “sustainable” solutions.

4. Capacity-Building Workshops – These workshops, led by our Fellows and Affiliates, and leading experts based in India, will help to teach and inspire young Indian photographers and filmmakers to pursue careers in professional photography and filmmaking to support conservation.

Confirmed iLCP Speakers

Sandesh Kadur (India) — iLCP Senior Fellow and National Geographic award-winning filmmaker and photographer.

Balan Madhavan (India) — iLCP Senior Fellow and award-winning photographer.

Beverly Joubert — iLCP Senior Fellow and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and award-winning photographer and filmmaker based in South Africa.

Dereck Joubert — National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and award-winning filmmaker and photographer based in South Africa.

Jaime Rojo  — iLCP Senior Fellow and National Geographic award-winning photographer and filmmaker.

Jason Houston — iLCP Senior Fellow and nonprofit-focused photographer and filmmaker.

Buffy Redsecker — Co-founder/president of the SunLight Time Foundation and former board chair (and head cheerleader) for iLCP. Her background is varied and complex, her brain is creative and her heart is huge. Her focus is on the health of the planet itself. 

Susan Norton — Joined iLCP as Executive Director in May 2017.  Previous roles have included Director of the National Geographic Museum and CEO of Wildscreen USA.  She serves on the Board of Directors of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and Destination DC.

Katherine Feng — A Chinese American, a Senior iLCP Fellow and for the past 17 years Katherine has been working with different Chinese nature reserves and wildlife rescue centers to help protect China’s endangered species and their habitat. 

Bittu Sahgal — An environmental activist and writer, Bittu the founding editor of Sanctuary Asia, a wildlife and ecology magazine based in India. He is a member of the National Board for Wildlife of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. 

Writers’ Sessions at WILD11

Join other conservation writers, photographers, and filmmakers who are interested in honing their craft, meeting other like-minded people and learning from others in the field.

Sessions will take place on March 23 – 25, 2020 from 1:30 – 5:00pm.

Sessions will highlight:

• Asian Writers and Asian Nature Writing–a tribute to writers, past and present
• From the Editor’s Desk: Getting published, with a panel of editors and publishers
• Exploring the Land–the Himalaya as muse
• Climate Crisis–calling for action
• The many outlets for writers–journalism, science and nature writing, personal nature experiences, and poetry
• A joint seminar with the International League of Conservation Photographers on effective ways to enhance writing and photography publication by including photos and text together in your final pieces.

The sessions are organized by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation, the Fulcrum Group and the International League of Conservation Writers (ILCW).

WILD11 Story Coaching

​We know that stories have the power to help us protect and restore wilderness. But figuring out how to use them for maximum impact can be tough, especially for small teams. That’s why we’re thrilled to add an in-house Story Coach to our program this year to help you take your wild story projects to the next level. Award-winning storyteller and strategist Denise Withers will be available to work with organizations and individuals from March 19 – 26 to provide support and guidance about all forms of storytelling focused on Congress goals.

After writing and directing documentaries for the Discovery Channel for 20 years, Denise completed her MSc in engagement design in Vancouver, Canada. She spent the next four years leading a curriculum innovation project at the University of British Columbia’s business school, going on to co-found four innovation and design labs for social purpose organizations. Today, she works as a story coach and consultant, combining her deep expertise in design thinking and storytelling to empower leaders to tackle issues like climate change and conservation. Most recently, she helped National Geographic photographers Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen use story to double the size, reach, revenue and impact of their ocean non-profit in less than a year.

During the Congress, you can work one-on-one with Denise for free, to find new ways to tap the power of stories for (almost) anything, including:

• • audience research and program evaluation;
  • strategic development and alignment;
  • campaign design and engagement;
  • proposal development and reporting, and;
  • social and digital media production.

To book your private story coaching session:

• • Log into the WILD11 app, or view the web version here (delegates must set their profiles to “visible” in order to contact and book with Denise).
  • Click the “Delegates” icon on the homepage.
  • Search for “Denise Withers”.
  • Click the “Message” button to introduce yourself to Denise and let her know you’d like to schedule an appointment with her.
  • Work with Denise to find a time to meet, and she will schedule the appointment with you through the WILD11 app. View a list of her available appointments here.