Meet Jarryn – the new Capacity Development Fellow here at CODE-NGO! Jarryn has been commissioned by international NGO CIVICUS to assist CODE-NGO with Knowledge Development and Management frameworks, as he is a specialist in trainings, instructional design, media and innovation for social impact. He began his Fellowship with us in February 2017, and will work across programme areas helping to institute good knowledge management policy and practice.

Jarryn is a social impact designer, development practitioner and media specialist with over ten years of cumulative experience in the media and social impact sector. Jarryn began his career as a writer, editor and narrative consultant for the National Film and Video Foundation in South Africa, and has since worked as a consultant for many major local and international networks in assisting to create, script edit, write and produce content with social impact messaging and themes. These have included international award-winning documentaries, feature films for the South African and African market and SAFTA winning television dramas for the likes of MNET, the SABC, ARTE and Mzansi Magic. He is a founding member of the Writers Guild of South Africa, and has twice served on its Executive Council in the portfolios of Professional Development and Transformation.

More recently Jarryn has been the project manager responsible for the CONNECTZA programme of the British Council, a multi-million pound cross-platform arts initiative, as well as the SA-UK Season of 2014-2015. Highlights of his tenure include the launch of the inaugural Joburg Photo Umbrella, the Jeppe Park Superdream community arts intervention, the LGBTI digital film festival #FiveFilmsForFreedom and the Royal Court Theatre’s ‘20 Years of Democracy’ script initiative.

In 2015 Jarryn returned to full time consultancy in the social impact sector, designing products and interventions for social change. He has been shortlisted for four major social innovation awards (including Stanford University’s D-Prize in 2015 and the Making All Voices Count #Tech4Change Africa Challenge) and has recently been named overall winner in the Gordon Institute of Business Science 2016 ‘Festival of Ideas’ Social Enterprise Competition.