The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo exhibition launched on Tuesday evening at the Castle of Good Hope.
The Cape Town exhibition was hosted by Independent Media, IOL, and the African News Agency (ANA), in collaboration with the Sputnik News Agency and Radio.
The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest is an annual contest for young photojournalists, aged between 18 and 33. The contest was founded on December 22, 2014, by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO.
Speaking at the launch, Independent Media and Sekunjalo Group Chairman, Dr Iqbal Survé expressed his excitement for partnering the fifth time with Sputnik.
“A picture tells a thousand words. We live in complex times in the world today. The world needs peace now more than ever. There’s always different sides to a story, but the one thing that always brings us together in a way is photographs.
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“We can see, through photographs, the beauty of this world as well as the horror of this world. I think sometimes we forget that at the end of all the conflict in the world today human beings are suffering,” Survé said.
He further paid recognition to the photographers from Independent Media.
“I don’t say thank you to them often enough. They are the window to the world for our readers,” he said.
Survé also tipped his hat to photographers present who have won the prestigious Andrei Stenin competition before.
“Sometimes we forget to acknowledge them. They go into difficult areas in difficult times. And they bring into our homes really what is taking place in our society. This exhibition is not just in honour of those whose work appears here, but the exhibition is in honour of our own photographers as well,” Survé said.
He thanked the photographers for their immense contribution to the organisation.
Survé said the symbolism of this exhibition was to tell the stories of people from around the world.
“The world needs a [Nelson] Mandela moment. Now more than ever before. I was privileged to know Mandela personally. A lesson I learnt from Mandela is that we must have the courage in the name of truth and peace. We must never be afraid to do that. It is possible to avoid conflict as much as possible and unite humanity,” Survé said.
He emphasised the struggle Mandela walked to bring democracy to South Africa.
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The Andrei Stenin Exhibition is recognised as one of the world’s top 10 photojournalism showcases and every year the competition attracts visual, captivating, and jaw-dropping photographs from photojournalists around the world.
This photo contest was created in memory of Andrei Stenin, the Russian photojournalist whose unwavering commitment to truth continues to resonate within the media community.
Stenin was killed in the line of duty while covering the war in the Donbas in 2014.
The exhibition is open to the public and available for viewing at the Good Hope Gallery from March 12 until March 16.