Press release

Release date: May 2005

Wildscreen chief awarded for global vision

Harriet Nimmo, the Chief Executive of Bristol based Wildscreen has been recognised for her outstanding leadership skills by NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) – the organisation dedicated to supporting innovators and improving the climate for creativity in this country.

NESTA’s Cultural Leadership pilot has selected five individuals from science, technology and arts sectors, to undertake placements with outstanding leaders from around the world to enhance their knowledge, skills, expertise and their own behaviour as leaders. Harriet will spend three months in Africa working alongside two leaders in the field of conservation – Conservation International and the World Conservation Union.

Harriet who in her roll at Wildscreen oversees the delivery of the Wildscreen Festival - the world’s largest and most prestigious wildlife and environmental film festival in the world, whilst also developing ARKive, the Bristol based Noah’s Ark which is creating the only comprehensive audio visual record of life on Earth. Launched by Sir David Attenborough in May 2003 the site now receives over 15,000 visitors a day from all over the world. With support from the world’s largest broadcasters, international conservation organisations as well as filmmakers and scientists worldwide, Wildscreen plays a vital role in raising awareness about endangered species and inspiring people to care about the natural world.

“I am thrilled and delighted to have been chosen by NESTA for this award,” says Harriet. “I will be working with two of the world’s most important conservation organisations and look forward to returning to Bristol with a wealth of new experiences and ideas to ensure that Wildscreen continues to lead the world in the use of wildlife imagery to raise public understanding and appreciation of nature and the urgent need for its conservation.”

Harriet who studied zoology at Bristol University joined Wildscreen in 1997 and turned the idea of ARKive from a single A4 sheet of paper into a £4m project which launched in 2003, the same year she became Chief Executive. The Wildscreen Festival in 2004 was hailed as one of the most successful yet, generating around £500,000 into the Bristol economy during festival week and millions for Bristol’s wildlife filmmaking industry over the years.

Venu Dhupa, NESTA Fellowship Director, said: “These awards are about creating leaders with a world view, who can bring back knowledge and expertise and put it to good use in the UK. Leaders of the future are going to need to be more adventurous and more networked, operating in an increasingly demanding climate. It is our hope that these individuals will be inspired by these international placements, enabling them to more effectively deliver significant cultural initiatives back on home turf.”

Cultural Leadership is part of NESTA’s core Fellowship programme which provides support for the UK’s most talented individuals to push back or break the boundaries of current knowledge and practice and take risks and contribute to the UK’s innovative potential.

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Media enquiries:

Hamish MacCall, Communications and Marketing Manager
Tel: +44 (0)117 328 5952
or Email: hamish.maccall@wildscreen.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1, Wildscreen is a UK-based educational charity working globally to promote the conservation of nature and the public appreciation of biodiversity, through the power of wildlife imagery. Its two main projects are:

  • The Wildscreen Festival - www.wildscreenfestival.org
    The world's largest, and most prestigious, festival of wildlife & environmental film.
  • ARKive – www.arkive.org
    The world’s first centralised collection of films and photographs of endangered species, made freely accessible to all via its award-winning websites.

2, Harriet has been singled out for praise before - in 2003 she was named the Professional European Woman of Achievement in the European Women of Achievement Awards. These are given to women for outstanding achievement, having been recognised for work that must have a significant European dimension. The judges looked for achievement where the individual had been a pioneer or an instigator of success with strong personal commitment, determination and an ability to overcome obstacles.

3, NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) investing in innovators and working to improve the climate for creativity in the UK.

Established in 1998 and set up with an endowment from the National Lottery (£200 million, raised in 2003 to £250 million), NESTA invests the interest to support UK innovation. Since May 2000, when the programmes first opened, NESTA has spent over £58m on programmes supporting 683 awards. Visit www.nesta.org.uk to find out more.

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