The World Press Photo Foundation has announced the regional winners and honorable mentions of the 66th edition of its annual photography competition. Single shots, long-range and multi-media stories and projects showcase not only the news that dominated headlines in 2022, but also lesser-known and intimate stories that explore equally pressing issues. Photos of war-torn Ukraine, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and an Iranian woman defying compulsory hijab law on a busy Tehran street are among contenders for four global awards , which will be announced on April 20. But insights into LGBTQ+ communities in the Philippines, New York’s musical aesthetic, and a community of women with dementia in Ghana also stood out.
This year, more than 3,700 photographers from around the world were narrowed down to 24 regional winners hailing from countries including Argentina, Ghana, Spain and the Philippines. The jurors will select a global winner for each category from the winners whose photos represent the best in each geographic region. The 24 regional winners receive €1,000 (~$1,083), while the four global prize winners earn an additional €5,000 (~$5,415).
Below are six highlights from the competition, one for each region.
Southeast Asia and Oceania Regional Winner
In Manila in the Philippines, a community of older LGBTQ+ people known asThe golden gays“Living together, supporting each other and organizing drag shows and beauty pageants to raise funds. Filipino photojournalist Hannah Reyes Morales documented the collective with “warmth, joy and dignity,” in the words of the jury, capturing how those who, in their golden years, face discrimination because of their gender identity and their sexual orientation creates a community.
South America Regional Winner
Tsunami waves from the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano caused 12,000 barrels of oil to leak into the sea. Peruvian officials described the oil spill as a “ecological disaster.” Musuk Nolte, a Peruvian-Mexican photographer, hauntingly captured large smudges of thick oil staining workers’ protective clothing against the natural landscape at the site of Spanish oil company Repsol’s La Pampilla refinery, about 30 km north of Lima.
North and Central America Regional Winner
New York-based Dominican-American photographer Ashley Peña explores the New York City Drill scene in her collection. It chronicles the surveillance of artists by the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the rivalries between the new generation of rap artists. His image of Brooklyn rapper 22Gz features an intimate portrait of the artist who was pulled from the Rolling Loud concert by the NYPD in September 2022 And October 2019.
European Regional Winner
In his Net-Zero Transition series, Italian photographer Simone Tramonte presents companies and researchers developing new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The above solar power plant in Fuentes de Andalucía, Spain, uses solar heat to generate uninterrupted electricity. Innovations, such as this solar power plant or a greenhouse powered by plant waste, are paving the way towards the The objective of the European Union reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Asia Regional Winner
In August 2021, the United States withdrew its forces from Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power. At the same time, the US government, other allied nations and various international non-governmental organizations also stopped sending aid to the country, which, combined with the droughts, devastated the Afghan economy. Danish photographer Mads Nissen shows women and children begging for bread in Kabul and other parts of the struggling nation.
Africa Regional Winner
South African documentary photographer Lee-Ann Olwage is drawing attention to the public health problem of dementia in Ghana through her project. “The Big Forget” explores a community of women in Gambaga who have been exiled due to mental illness, one of six so-called “witch camp.” Pictured, community leader Sugri Zenabu shows signs of confusion as she sits on a bench.
