World’s best news photos to be exhibited in Manila

The best news photos taken last year by photojournalists from all over the world will be on exhibit in Manila for three weeks in August.

Winning works from the 2008 World Press Photo competition, touted as the world’s largest and most prestigious annual contest in press photography, will be on display Aug. 1 to 7 at the Podium in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Aug. 8 to 13 at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and Aug. 14 to 22 at The Block at the SM North EDSA.

The 2008 World Press Photo Exhibition in Manila will be hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo (ACFJ). It is also supported by the Embassy of The Netherlands in Manila and global multi-brand company Unilever.

The show is topbilled by the work of British photographer Tim Hetherington. His picture of a U.S. soldier who had collapsed appearing exasperated on a bunker after intense fighting in Afghanistan was awarded the Photo of the Year.

A record number of 5,019 photographers - up 12.5 percent over the immediately past year – vied in the 2008 competition. A total of 80,536 images were submitted.

Amsterdam-based media NGO World Press Photo has run the competition annually since 1955.

The exhibit that follows the competition is “a showcase for creativity in photojournalism and a platform for developments in the profession - part of World Press Photo's aim of encouraging and stimulating the work of press photographers around the world,” the World Press Photo, said in its website.

Last year, the Manila leg of the exhibition was also held in the three same venues. The show drew huge numbers of viewers including journalists, media professionals, students, teachers and professionals. Nearly 200 comments and testimonials were made by viewers in guest book entries.

The forthcoming Manila show is expected to attract as broad an audience as it did in May 2007.

Each year, the winning images in the competition go on a roadshow after the exhibit’s official opening in Amsterdam as part of the prize-giving ceremony in April. It is shown until March of the following year in venues around the globe.

The Manila leg of the exhibit will open with a press preview on the first day. Guided tours for students, and academic and professional organizations are set for the succeeding days.

In a two-year program, the World Press Photo has worked with the ACFJ for the successful offering of the Diploma in Photojournalism course. This is crafted for Asian photojournalists and media professionals who want to sharpen their technical skills and be better in their profession. At least 15 students have so far graduated from the program.

[via the Ateneo de Manila website]