Dave Ojay
Dave is a cultural and creative arts curator, activist, convener, professional photographer, and audio-visual public installation artist. He founded NAAM Festival, a community volunteer-based organisation running conservation and nature sustainability campaigns at local, regional, and global levels since 2015. NAAM, a Swahili word meaning “YES” or “to acknowledge,” also means “LAKE” in the Luo languages spoken around East Africa. Through NAAM, Dave has built a creative arts advocacy platform for social and environmental justice. The initiative emphasizes the urgent need to restore lake ecosystems and was recently nominated by the United Nations Museums among the top ten cultures for impact initiatives.
After studying media, Dave settled into creative arts to combine science, media, and the arts as tools for convening people, building creative sustainable businesses, organizing green events, and promoting education. Today, he sees himself as a climate and social artivist. He uses audio-visuals, artistic fusion, spoken word, and dialogue to break down complex concepts of environmental science and human-water-nature-culture connectedness. His goal is to decolonize conservation and amplify local voices at the community level for greater ownership.
His experience working at world festivals inspired him to create cultural events at natural heritage sites. He was awarded a Kanthari Institute scholarship for Environmental Change Making in South India and won the Kanthari Impact Film Storytelling Project Award. It was there that he was branded an “Eagle,” after the impact of his award-winning film, which also won a local film prize.
Most recently, Dave was invited to the National Geographic Explorers Community – Kenya Hub Meet Up in early 2025, where he connected with other explorers and expanded his network as a finalist of the 2019 NATGEO Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge. Critical questions continue to power his imagination for a better planet.
Looking ahead, he is committed to advancing the fight for justice for Lake Victoria—working toward a drinkable, fishable lake and safeguarding other endangered water bodies beyond the African Great Lakes region through #MyLakeMyFuture global solidarity.
