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Ukrainian Photographer Wins World Press Photo Award

Each year, the World Press Photo contest rewards the most outstanding photos of the year. On Thursday, April 20, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka received the World Press Photo of the Year award for his picture of the besieged maternity ward of Mariupol, in Ukraine.

The image went around the world. A bloody pregnant woman was evacuated on a stretcher while the maternity ward of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol had just been bombed by the Russians. This photo was taken on March 9, 2022 by Ukrainian photographer Evgeniy Maloletka.

With Russia’s war in Ukraine constantly in the news, the Photo of the Year goes to this photograph of the siege of Mariupol, “for perfectly capturing the human suffering caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a single image”, said the jury.

© Evgeniy Maloletka, Associated Press, World Press Photo of the Year
© Evgeniy Maloletka, Associated Press, World Press, Photo of the Year

Each year, the World Press Photo contest highlights the importance of press photography worldwide and the photographers who serve it. In addition to Evgeniy Maloletka’s work, three other awards were presented. Photographer Mads Nissen was awarded the World Press Photo Story of the Year for his “haunting but beautiful” photos of Afghanistan.

The Price of Peace in Afghanistan © Mads Nissen, World Press Photo Story of the Year
The Price of Peace in Afghanistan © Mads Nissen, World Press Photo Story of the Year

The Long-Term Project Award goes to Anush Babajanyan, for her work spanning years to highlight a story not often covered outside Central Asia about water management impacts after the end of the Soviet Union made worse by the climate crisis.

© Anush Babajanyan, Asia, Long-Term Projects, National Geographic Society
© Anush Babajanyan, Asia, Long-Term Projects, National Geographic Society

Finally, The Open Format Award goes to Mohamed Mahdy, for his work with residents of Al Max, in Alexandria, Egypt, “to preserve the memory of their fast-disappearing fishing village and has invited the whole world to participate through an interactive website”, congratulated the jury of the international award.

For six decades, the World Press Photo Foundation has been working from its home in Amsterdam as an independent, non-profit organization. To provide truly global perspectives, the foundation launched a new regional strategy in 2022. From January to March 2023 six regional and one global jury decided on 24 regional and 4 global winners.

World Press Photo Open Format Award_Mohamed Mahdy
© Mohamed Mahdy, World Press Photo, Open Format Award

The World Press Photo Yearbook 2023 will be published on May 8, 2023.

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