The exhibit, which will showcase top photos of the annual contest from 2016 to 2018, will open at the Niavaran Cultural Center on May 10, the director of the exhibition, Laurens Korteweg, said in a press conference at the center on Monday.
“This travelling exhibition, unique in its kind, will display 141 photos in nine different categories including general news, people, sports, daily life and nature,” he added.
“The exhibition is here now while it is also underway in other cities around the world, including Hamburg in Germany, Rome in Italy, Bucharest in Romania and Lisbon in Portugal,” he said.
“We are happy to add Iran to this tour”, he noted.
He expressed his thanks to the Dutch ambassador in Tehran, Susanna Terstal, who was also attending the conference and said, “This is not possible without the contribution of the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Iranian Photojournalists Association and the United Nations.”
“We showcase stories that make people stop, feel, think and act. We encourage photographers in the world to present their stories and inform the public with different perspectives. We exhibit those stories for an audience worldwide and encourage debate on their meaning,” he explained.
“Every year, we receive amazing contributions from Iranian photographers, who are known for their professionalism, good eye, attention to details and high technique. We hope to cooperate more with Iranian photographers in the near future,” he remarked.
However, no works by Iranian photographers have been selected for the Tehran exhibit.
Iranian Photojournalists Association director Hamid Forutan who was in attendance at the press conference briefed the media about the association.
Next, the director of the United Nations Information Center in Tehran, Maria Dotsenko, read a message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“On World Press Freedom Day 2018, I call on governments to strengthen press freedom, and to protect journalists,” he wrote.
“Promoting a free press is standing up for our right to truth,” he added.
The theme of the 2018 World Press Photo exhibition is “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law”. The exhibit will be running until June 1.
The World Press Photo Contest is organized by the World Press Photo Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Source: Tehran Times