World Press Photo 200

La Fundación Telefónica opens its season with World Press Photo 2002, an exhibit which contains some of the strongest photographic images of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York, the anniversary of which is this very day.
World Press Photo 2002 is the most prestigious competition worldwide in the field of photo-journalism. The images contained in it deal with subject matter such as the war in Afghanistan, art, sports, nature, science and technology and snapshots taken in developing countries.

The collection houses nearly 180 photos, 102 of which are in color, submitted by photo-journalists, photo agencies, newspapers and magazines from around the world. They are selected by an international judging panel. This year’s competition can boast of 4,171 photographers from 123 countries submitting a total of 49,235 photos, half of which are in digital format.

The awarded photographs deal with the following themes: the Northern Alliance troops’ incursion into Afghanistan; the unrest surrounding the G8 summit in Genoa, July, 2001; the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the rescue efforts at "ground zero"; the Israeli-Palestinian confrontations in Ramala; the refugee camp in Jazolai, Pakistan; the civil war in Bosnia; the immigration camps of Bosnians from the Roma tribe, with the KFOR train service; the schools for the blind, victims of the civil war in Sierra Leon: the slave children in Gabon; the fighters of the FARC in Colombia: the devastation of AIDS in Uganda; and the government repression of mothers protesting in the Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires.

Photos dealing with daily life have also received awards, as well as those about sports and other social topics, including the following: the exclusive neighborhoods for senior citizens in Sun City, Arizona; the rehearsals of young ballerinas in Melbourne, Australia; the Muslim mosques in the People’s Republic of China; the rehearsals of Emmanuelle Bronein for the Zarzuela Theater in Madrid; the Biennial of Venice; African fashions in Dakar; life of the pygmies in the Central African Republic; the golfer Tiger Woods at the U.S. Masters competition in Georgia; the Mexican rodeos in California; the training of Chinese gymnasts; the boxing academies in Cuba; the competitions of lifeguards in South New Wales, Australia; and the "turbo-golfers" of Berlin who practice this sport on the rooftops of buildings.

In the section of Nature and the Environment one may appreciate scenes such as the following: fishing in Cameroon; disasters such as that caused by introducing northern pike in Anchorage, Alaska; the devastation from foot and mouth disease in Great Britain; the fires in Australia; and a rehabilitation center for orangutans in Indonesia.

Science and Technology also has an important role in this exhibit. We can see underwater digging in the Mediterranean or the northern lights. Juxtaposed to these are highly graphic snapshots such as muscle stimulation of quadriplegics at Cooper Hospital in New Jersey, the waiting room at Yanhee Hospital in Bangkok, a health clinic in Eritrea, or the exhumation of bodies from mass graves in Bosnia.

CURRENT EVENTS, SOCIETY AND PHOTO ESSAYS

World Press Photo 2002 is divided into numerous sections: World Press Photo from 2001; World Press Photo’s children’s photography; Current events / current events in photo essays; Personalities in the news / personalities in photo essays; Portraits / portraits in photo essays; Art / art in photo essays; Sports / sports in photo essays; Nature and the environment / nature and the environment in photo essays; Science and technology / science and technology in photo essay; Daily life / daily life in photo essay; Recent News / recent news in photo essays.

Each year the World Press Photo Foundation invites news photographers from around the world to participate in this large-scale competition. All work produced by photo-journalists the year prior is eligible for entry.

The goal of the competition is to highlight the significance of snapshots, which the judging panel believes to be a model for photography professionals to follow.

HIGH RATE OF REPORTER PARTICIPATION

In this year’s competition 4,171 journalists from 123 different countries sent in 49,235 photos. More than half of these were completely created in digital format and all of them were judged in Amsterdam by an international panel made up of thirteen professionals of great prestige in the world of news photography. This exhibit, with approximately 200 award winners, will travel throughout the world, through some 35 countries. This work is published annually in seven languages in the form of a catalogue containing all the pieces selected for exhibit. This year’s event marks improvements: first of all, more than half of the photos were presented in digital format, which proves that this traditional discipline has adapted to the new technology; and secondly, never before have so many photos been submitted for possible entry.

The awarded photos, in the panel’s opinion, recover a world opposite to that which we are used to seeing, one which needs urgent solutions. It points to a series of complicities that have ignored Afghanistan since the end of the Cold War. This is the job of photo-journalists, situated as the advance party and social conscience of the artistic vanguard, a role insufficiently recognized in the world of new media.

THE WORLD PRESS PHOTO FOUNDATION

World Press Photo is an independent, non-profit organization presided over by Prince Bernard of Holland. It was founded in Holland in 1955, with the goal of supporting and promoting the work of photo-journalists. In fact, it has become an independent platform for photo-journalism and for the free exchange of information.

In addition to its extensive program of exhibits, the organization carries out several educational projects, such as seminars, photography classes and the World Press Children’s Award. Special attention is given to developing countries, where seminars are held for the graphic journalists there. There is also a course called the "Joop Swart Masterclass" given annually in Holland and directed at young promising talents in this field just beginning their careers. They are given the opportunity to learn from the best professionals in international photo-journalism.

AN INTERNATIONAL JUDGING PANEL

An international judging panel made up of thirteen highly renowned photo-journalist professionals evaluated the nearly 50,000 photos received. Criteria included originality, composition (this year’s predominant tone is that of impact), and the political and social messages inherent in the pieces. According to the panel president, Roger Hutchings, this competition "represents the triumph of content and composition over style, contrary to recent tendencies in which style was valued stronger than meaning. Therefore, the selected photographs are eloquent testimony of the desperate nature of our era". Also worthy of note is the close relationship that exists between many of the competing pieces.

President of judging panel:
Roger Hutchings, United Kingdom, photographer for Network Photographers.

Members of Panel:
Nicole Aeby, Switzerland, chief editor of Lookout Photos
Vincent Alabiso, U.S., vice-president and chief editor of photography for AP
Ana Cecilia Gonzales-Vigil, Perú, photography editor for El Comercio
Yuri Kozyrev, Russia, photographer
Jean-François Leroy, France, director of Visa pour l’Image
Kadir van Lohuizen, Holland, photographer for Agencia Vu
Herbert Mabuza, South Africa, photographer and chief photo editor for The Sunday Times
Susan Olle, Australia, art director for Time South Pacific
Prashant Panjiar, India, chief editor for Indian Express
Sylvie Rebbot, France, chief photo editor of Geo France
Reza, France, photographer for National Geographic
Maggie Steber, U.S., photography director for The Miami Herald

Award recipients:
- World Press Photo of the Year, 2001: The body of a one year old boy who died of dehydration is being prepared for burial in the countryside by Jalozai refugees in June.
Author: Erik Refner (Denmark)
- Children’s Photography: A girl smiles to the camera while her sisters hide behind the doorway in Northern Afghanistan.
Author: Aleksander Nordahl (Norway)
- Art in photo essays: The sculpture of Ron Mueck, "Child", grew from a small model to its enormous size today in nine months.
Author: Gautier Deblonde (France)
- Personalities in the news: Survivors of the collapse of the World Trade Center, New York, Sept. 11.
Author: Gunara Samoilova (U.S.)
- Portraits: Young Pakistani girl.
Author: Jodi Bieber (South Africa)

Exhibition

Catalogue