Hawaiʻi Sea Grant TV series wins six Telly Awards

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Cindy Knapman, (808) 387-7634
Communications Leader, Sea Grant College Program
Posted: Mar 28, 2022

Kiwikiu, a critically endangered Maui forest bird. Photo by Zach Pezillo
Kiwikiu, a critically endangered Maui forest bird. Photo by Zach Pezillo
Voice of the Sea, season 8, episode 1
Voice of the Sea, season 8, episode 1
Voice of the Sea, season 7, episode 9
Voice of the Sea, season 7, episode 9

Out of 12,000 entries from 50 U.S. states and five continents, the Voice of the Sea television series produced by the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (Hawai‘i Sea Grant), took home six awards in the 42nd Annual Telly Awards.

Voice of the Sea, now in its 9th season, is a premier educational television show, bringing viewers throughout Hawai‘i and the Pacific to meet diverse scientists and cultural practitioners. The series is broadcast on television in Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, Guam, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, series producer, host and professor of education at UH Mānoa, said “I am so proud of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant and our collaborators—working together with local communities to share these award-winning stories of science and culture!”

Voice of the Sea was awarded one gold, two silver and three bronze awards this year and has racked up an impressive 36 Telly Awards to date.

“So well deserved for Kanesa and her team at Kaua‘i Sound and Cinema who work tirelessly throughout each year, but none of us would be able to produce this series without the scientists and community members that bring local and regional STEM and cultural knowledge and understanding to every episode,” said Darren Lerner, executive producer for Voice of the Sea and Hawaiʻi Sea Grant’s director.

Gold Telly Award

The Gold Telly Award was awarded to “Saving the Kiwikiu: Part 2,” which highlights the experts who are helping to save the critically endangered honeycreeper endemic to Maui. It is especially poignant as, following the episode premiere, one of the kiwikiu was found alive in its natural habitat after the relocation effort was considered unsuccessful.

Silver Telly Awards

Bronze Telly Awards 

“In the face of a year like no other, the visual storytelling community has continued to defy the limitations of our new world. Achievements have been both societal, such as embracing social media platforms to raise awareness about injustices and promote solidarity for movements, as well as geographical, like developing fully remote pipelines for dispersed teams”, says Telly Awards Executive Director Sabrina Dridje. “This year’s submissions doubled down on what we already know about the industry. Creativity cannot be stopped. Collaboration will always prevail. New ideas and stories will always find a way to break through to an audience.”

Voice of the Sea airs in Hawai‘i on Saturdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. on K5 The Home Team. To watch full episodes or learn more about Voice of the Sea, visit voiceofthesea.org

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The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program is part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s prestigious School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. It supports an innovative program of research, education, and extension services directed to increasing sustainability of coastal and marine resources and resilience of coastal communities of the state, region, and nation. Science serving Hawai‘i and the Pacific since 1968.

The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant Center for Marine Science Education is dedicated to building partnerships that enhance marine science education at all levels (Kindergarten through graduate school and the public community) in order to foster understanding of the natural world and the role of humans in it.

For more information, visit: https://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu/about-voice-of-the-sea/