Durham Kenyan documentary receives award

Durham College (DC) was recently a recipient of the Real Life Learning Award at the 2019 PIEoneer Awards in London, England.

The award, which recognizes organizations offering real-life learning programs overseas, was presented to the college for its Kenyan Education for Employment Program (KEFEP) documentary that premiered last year.

“We are so thrilled to receive this prestigious award. It’s the result of countless hours of work from passionate DC students and faculty whose incredible film documents the ongoing work being done to strengthen education in Kenya,” said Lisa Shepard, dean of international education at Durham.

Captured, scripted, edited and produced by four students and two faculty from Durham’s School of Media, Art and Design, the crew spent three weeks in Kenya last year documenting KEFEP, a five-year initiative focused on strengthening and supporting technical and vocational education and training in Kenya, funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.

While in Kenya, the crew conducted 52 interviews with KEFEP partners, stakeholders and beneficiaries, in addition to collecting 40 hours of footage.

After months of editing, the KEFEP documentary premiered in front of 120 guests from the college and local community, including the principal secretary from Kenya’s State Department of Vocational and Technical Education and the deputy high commissioner of Kenya to Canada.