WORLD PRESS PHOTO EXHIBITION OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS 3 MAY

Note to Correspondents

WORLD PRESS PHOTO EXHIBITION OPENS AT HEADQUARTERS 3 MAY

In observance of World Press Freedom Day, an exhibition of the best press photographs of 2004 will open in the North-East Gallery of the General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 May.  This travelling exhibition of winning images selected at World Press Photos’ worldwide 2005 photojournalism contest in Amsterdam will remain on display through 29 May.

Opening remarks at the formal exhibit opening will be made by the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Shashi Tharoor.  Also speaking are the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, Dirk Jan van den Berg; Regional Director of TNT, Mark Gunton; and Managing Director of the World Press Photo Foundation, Michiel Munneke.

Among the winning images featured in the exhibition is the World Press Photo of the Year 2004, regarded as the photojournalistic encapsulation of the year; a photograph that represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance.  This year’s selection is a colour image showing an Indian woman mourning the death of a relative who was killed in the Asian tsunami catastrophe.  The picture was taken in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, on 28 December 2004 by Indian photographer Arko Datta of Reuters.

The World Press Photo contest broke two records this year, 4,266 professional photographers from 123 countries entered 69,190 images.  It was also the first time that the judging was completely digital.  An international jury gave prizes in 10 theme categories to 63 photographers from 24 countries.  World Press Photo, an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1955 in the Netherlands, is committed to supporting and promoting the work of professional press photographers.  It has evolved into an independent platform for photojournalism and the free exchange of information.

This photo exhibit is sponsored by the World Press Photo Foundation, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations, Getty Images, Canon, TNT and the Department of Public Information.  A selection of the winning images is available for publication on the international wire services of Reuters, AP, AFP and EPA.  For additional information, visit the World Press Photo website:  www.worldpressphoto.nl.

For more information on United Nations exhibitions, call Jan Arnesen at tel.: (212) 963-8531, or Liza Wichmann at tel.: (212) 963-0089, or visit the website at www.un.org/events/UNART.

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