2024 Team Up Folktale Oscars

Celebrating video creativity across the Pacific, winners from five countries received awards at the third annual Team Up Folktale Oscars, which were held virtually and in hubs in Canberra and across the Pacific on 29 May 2024.

The event showcased the exceptional stories of impact from our various sport for development programs across the Pacific and highlighted the remarkable skills in capturing these impactful moments through the use of Folktale.

Team Up has been using Folktale since 2021, and in 2023 it became a compulsory element of the program’s monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (MERL) framework, replacing some paper reporting requirements and giving voice to a more diverse range of program staff and participants in reporting and communications content.

The introduction of Folktale has also allowed Team Up to build the video production capacity of dozens of sport for development staff and volunteers across the Pacific, through running virtual and face-to-face training in how to use Folktale and in transferable video production and impact storytelling skills.

The 2024 ceremony celebrated winners and nominees in 12 categories (an increase from eleven in 2023): Most Improved Production, Best Presenter, Best Profile, Best Messaging, Best Impact Story, Best Disability Story, Best Gender Story, Most Enthusiastic Production Team, Best Program Showcase, Best Director, Best Series of Videos, and Most Outstanding Video.

All Folktale videos produced by Team Up partners in Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu from 2023-2024 were considered for the awards. Each category winner collected a prize pack of video production-enhancing accessories for their program, as well as Team Up prize packs for themselves and the person featured in their video. 

This year's event was particularly special, as Folktale graciously hosted a Canberra hub for the very first time. The hub welcomed representatives from various organisations, including the Australian Government. Notably, Kate Coffey, the newly appointed Director for the Australian Government's Pacific Sports Section, was in attendance. In her capacity, she oversees both PacificAus Sports and Team Up. She expressed admiration for the compelling stories presented by the nominees and winners and expressed her desire to see Team Up sport for development initiatives across the Pacific continue to be impactful.

The winner of the Most Outstanding Video category, Harvie Yee from the Smash Down Barriers program (for her video that also won the Best Gender Story category) also received a special stabilising phone camera rig to further enhance the video capturing quality of her program.

"The awards mean a lot to me and the Team as this is the first time we won two categories", says Harvi Yee, the Fiji in-country manager for the Smash Down Barriers Program.

"I can’t forget to thank my team and those who volunteered in making an effort to help out in showcasing the wonderful stories of how we, the Smash Down Barriers program, work to help change lives, break down barriers and showcase transformative impacts stories of our program through Folktale."

The Smash Down Barriers program in Tonga won the inaugural Best Series of Videos category and also took home the top prizes in the categories for Best Profile and Best Program Showcase. They also received a special stabilising phone camera rig. 

Upon accepting the awards, Salote Fungavai, Program Manager for the Smash Down Barriers program in Tonga, shared: “Wow, huge shout out to my team and to Team Up for recognising our efforts. I know all the programs spend quite a significant amount of time capturing and submitting these videos, and we’re just grateful to be recognised.”

The full list of Team Up Folktale Oscar winners (and nominees in brackets) is:

• Most Improved Production: Nerolyne Kaupapa, Swim, Splash & Survive Vanuatu (nominees: Annie Rose Gere, Just Play Vanuatu and Toluiva Keneti, Get into Rugby PLUS Samoa)
• Best Presenter: William Peter, Basketball for Good Fiji (nominees: Coach Paolo, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG and Maylin Chang, Just Play Fiji)
• Best Profile: Salote Fungavai, Smash Down Barriers Tonga (nominees: Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG and Tapai Talaifono, Healthy Nanas and Disability Cricket Samoa)
• Best Messaging: Eileen Dixon, League for Life Samoa (nominees: Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG and Sonia Embahe, Just Play PNG)
• Best Impact Story: Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG (nominees: Avii Faalupega, Get into Rugby PLUS Samoa and Mike Nelson, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG)
• Best Disability Story: Hotel Manua Maki, Volley4Change Vanuatu (nominees: Harvi Yee, Smash Down Barriers Fiji and Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG)
• Best Gender Story: Harvi Yee, Smash Down Barriers Fiji (nominees: Nerolyne Kaupapa, Swim, Splash & Survive Vanuatu and Oripa Lee, Get into Rugby PLUS Fiji)
• Most Enthusiastic Production Team: Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG (nominees: Just Play PNG and Volley4Change Vanuatu)
• Best Program Showcase: Salote Fungavai, Smash Down Barriers Tonga (nominees: Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG and Toluiva Keneti, Get into Rugby PLUS Samoa)
• Best Director: Mickey Tamarua, Just Play PNG (nominees: Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG and Meleseini Tufui, Just Play Tonga)
• Best Series of Videos: Smash Down Barriers Tonga (nominees: Inclusive GymBad PNG and League for Life Tonga)
• Most Outstanding Video: Harvi Yee, Smash Down Barriers Fiji (nominees: Mike Nelson, Kicks 4 Kokoda PNG and Joyce Koiari, Inclusive GymBad PNG)

WATCH video highlights of all the nominees’ work in the video gallery below: