World of Drones Congress Report | Kristen Camp (n10233776) | KJB222
“You couldn’t do it, it’s too complicated.” Those were the words Carys Kaiser was told by a male co-worker when she first showed an interest in learning to fly a drone.
Determined to prove him, and all similarly-minded people in the industry wrong, the young filmmaker decided in that moment, she would pursue a career in drone operation.
“I never classed my gender as something that went against me – I just cracked on,” she says.
Four years on, Carys, also known as The Drone Lass is campaigning for women all across the world to embrace drones and not be afraid to crack the male-dominated industry.
With only 3% of women world-wide choosing drone operation as a profession, Carys was left asking why? Is it because women just aren’t as interested in the field as men? Or is it because they don’t think they can, due to their gender?
Either way, Carys is proud to be an ambassador for women drone pilots and believes the skill is a valuable tool she would recommend to any filmmaker.
While many of her female drone friends have had negative encounters with males in the industry, she says there are also so many men who are supportive, which is often forgotten.
An aspect of the business that Carys is particularly passionate about, surrounds the public’s current perception of drones themselves. The relatively new technology has received its fair share of negative criticism over the years, but Carys believes society’s opinion of drones is becoming more positive, as people become more educated.
Despite the associations of privacy issues and interference with planes, Carys says there are many positives that outweigh the negative.
Some of these include the excellent story-telling purposes drones are used for, as well as their abilities for rescue missions and environmental discoveries.
As the acceptance surrounding drones grows, Carys hopes that the female interest will too.
“The advice that I give to other women when you start flying is to get a drone, learn how it works and learn the law and go and fly and start enjoying that experience,” she says.
The leading lady has become such a voice for not only women in drones, but the industry as a whole. Throughout her career in television and commercial filmmaking, she has made a name for herself and is now working as a successful freelance creator.
“Connecting with the women across the world that fly drones has given me opportunities that I never thought possible when I first started this journey,” she says.
But women aren’t the only ones who can benefit from the world of drones.
The Indigenous people of Australia are being given opportunities to learn about drones through workshops like the Indigenous Digital Excellence (IDX) ‘Flint’ Program.
Run by the National Manager Grant Cameron, Flint involves specialised tech training using drones, robotics and virtual reality for all ages of Indigenous Australians.
Within the program, the attendees are able to combine traditional knowledge with new technology by monitoring the land and wildlife using drones.
This exercise encourages people in remote communities to explore technology pathways as a job opportunity and gives Indigenous people the opportunity to map and measure their own country.
Grant says being able to share his knowledge and skills with locals is a good feeling. One of his stand-out students was a young boy in Cape Town who was super engaged in the drone flying and asked all the right questions.
When Grant let him take off and land his Phantom 2 drone, the young man said, “I really want to a get a job one day and I’d love to learn how to map my own country for my people.”
Grant is returning to visit him soon, and says the valuable and long-lasting relationships that are created with the communities is important.
“Drones are playing a vital role in Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander communities and we’re all really excited to see where those opportunities take us,” he says.
The main takeaway from 2019’s World of Drones Congress was that no matter what your background or gender is, the sky is the limit when it comes to flying drones.
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The World of Drone Congress is on again tomorrow the 27th! Click here to register.
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