By Elton Arends, creative director of WOW!
I step out of the plane and immediately feel that familiar Bonaire breeze. This time, I’m not here for WOW! film recordings, but for a special project. Simon and Josh, professors from the University of Pennsylvania (UPEN), invited me to take part in an animation workshop about using animation to communicate difficult but important stories, such as climate change and nature conservation in a simple and effective manner.
Simon had discovered our WOW! project on LinkedIn and asked if we wanted to bring in our WOW-ies to the workshop and, of course, I said yes.
After arriving at Delfins Resort, I had a moment to reflect and think about what story I would want to tell when joining the workshop. It had to be about the future of the islands, about climate change, and at the same time radiate hope and creativity. That evening, I met the UPEN team, a group of enthusiastic students and alumni. During dinner – Simon cooked delicious chicken and bami for all of us – I told them about WOW! and the WOW-ies. Their reaction? Unanimously: WOOOOW!
The next day, when the moment arrived, we all assembled in Bonaire’s new library – an impressive space all of Bonaire can be truly proud of. The hall was completely full. NGOs, government officials, young people, entrepreneurs – everyone was there. Professor Josh explained how we can use animation to tell stories in a playful way. After a short introduction, we split into teams and created a simple first animation, just to understand the technique.
Then it got really exciting! In less than an hour, we had to come up with a concept around nature conservation or climate change, prepare all the scrap material and cut it all to set the stage. While the group was busy brainstorming, I already knew what I wanted to do. The day before, I had already pictured it in my head: Rosie, a juvenile flamingo – the WOW-ie of Bonaire – was going to tell the story. Together with my teammate Naney, who works at a large international NGO, we developed the idea.
Rosie would gather old branches to build herself stilts, and when her friend (another flamingo) asked what she was doing, she would answer: “I’m preparing for the future. Haven’t you heard?” Then with a smile and a lighthearted tone, Rosie would point to a serious message that read: “If we’re not careful, the water will rise and we won’t be able to adapt fast enough” – a playful animation illustrating in a fun way the impact of climate change on our islands.
You can watch the rest of the animation through the LinkedIn page of WOW! For me, the most special part was being included in this initiative, and I want to thank UPEN and their wonderful team for the invitation – and for donating a stop-motion animation station to Bonaire’s library.
Driving back to the hotel that evening, I thought about the power of stories. How a simple animation with a juvenile flamingo can touch children, students, and even policymakers. Rosie on stilts once again showed me why we had started WOW! in the first place – to connect people with nature, in a way that moves and inspires.
In closing, I want to express immense gratitude to everyone who has dedicated their life to preserving the beauty and nature of our six Caribbean islands. Thanks to their work, future generations will also be able to say what I felt that day – WOW!
