The inauguration of the World Press Photo Exhibition will take place tonight at the Head Office of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus in Strovolos, Lefkosia. The President of the House of Representatives Mr Marios Garoyian will open the exhibition at 19:30. This exhibition, which is organised by the World Press Photo Foundation, unique in its kind, is the result of a worldwide annual contest on press photography and is brought to Lefkosia by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The World Press Photo Exhibition is shown this year at about 100 venues all over the world. This year’s exhibition contains about 156 photographs. It is an annual public showcase for photojournalism comprising the year’s winning photo, together with the award-winning images from each of the ten contest categories. The categories are the following: Spot News, Daily Life, General News, Contemporary Issues, People in the News, Portraits, Nature, Sports Action, Sports Features and Art and Entertainment. The high quality of photojournalism involved is considered to set a standard in the field.

Each year, an independent international jury, consisting of thirteen members, judges the entries in the ten different categories, submitted by photojournalists, agencies, newspapers and magazines from all corners of the world. This year’s competition attracted 5 019 photographers from 125 countries. In total 80 536 images were entered in the contest.

The Representative of the World Press Photo Foundation and Project Manager of the Exhibition Mrs Femke van der Valk, at her presentation at a Press Conference held today explained: “The exhibition is not only the result of a competition but also an overview of what happened in the world in 2007. So, I am inviting all the people in Cyprus to visit the exhibition and see the news from a different angle”.  

The World Press Photo Foundation is an independent, non-profit organisation, founded in 1955 in Amsterdam. Its main aim is to support and promote internationally the work of professional press photographers. Over the years, World Press Photo has evolved into an independent platform of photojournalism and the free exchange of information. 

In order to realize its objectives, World Press Photo organises the world’s largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest. The result of the contest is the World Press Photo exhibition. Educational projects play an important role in World Press Photo’s activities. Seminars and workshops open to individual photographers, photo agencies and picture editors are organised in developing countries. The annual Joop Swart Masterclass, held in the Netherlands, is aimed at talented photographers at the start of their careers. They receive practical instruction and professional advice from leaders in the profession.

The exhibition held at the Electricity Authority of Cyprus Head Office building from 25/9/2008 until 15/10/2008, will be open daily, from 9am to 9pm, including weekends and the public holiday of October 1^st.

World Press Photo is sponsored worldwide by Canon and TNT and in Cyprus by Electricity Authority of Cyprus and the Embassy of the Netherlands.

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Press Officer: 24 September 2008