Courtesy of World Press Photo
Recognising the need to train a booming generation of journalists in the region, World Press Photo (WPP) is inviting photojournalists and documentary photographers from North Africa to participate in their “Reporting change” photo storytelling course.
WPP says the course takes place in the framework of a bigger project called “Reporting Change: Investigating and documenting transition in the Middle East and North Africa”, an initiative by the journalism organisation and Human Rights Watch.
WPP is a leading foundation in photojournalism and documentaries. The organisation says its aim is to generate wide public interest in the work of photographers and visual journalists. It organises photojournalism contests and exhibition tours to support its aims.
The course anticipates 24 participants who will hone their photojournalistic, storytelling, and editing skills through training sessions with international photographers and photo editors who themselves have been trained by WPP.
These will include the director of photography for Geo France Magdalena Herrera, director of photography at Vrij Nederland Jenny Smets, photographer at VII Photo Agency Donald Weber, and photographer at Agence Vu Michael Zumstein.
The course will be conducted in three phases: a five-day introduction to storytelling to produce story ideas and a work plan, the production of a photo story whilst receiving online training from the previous experts, and finally, another five-day workshop where the stories are produced, edited and discussed.
The deadline for registration is 21 February. Application is open to participants from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia who have experience working in the region.
The participants will be chosen by an independent and international committee and the names will be announced by the first week of March.
The course locations will be in Tunisia and Egypt and participation will be free. Travel and lodging expenses will be covered by WPP. The 24 participants will be divided into two groups: one that starts in April and finishes in July, and one that starts in May and finishes in August.
After the course is concluded, ten promising participants will be chosen to have a chance at producing a story on the region. For this purpose, WPP is making available ten grants of 2,000 euros for each candidate.
Some of the produced stories are expected to be published in a book and an online publication by WPP.
The Reporting Change project runs from 2012 to 2014 and aims to support the growing democratic process in the region through documenting change.
