SDN Announces Winners of Call for Entries on Global Awareness 

SocialDocumentary.net is thrilled to announce the five winners of the Call for Entries on Global Awareness. Gwenn Dubourthoumieu from France and Mark Tuschman from the United States are winners of the Management Sciences for Health (MSH) Photography Fellowship Grand Prize. Fausto Podavini from Italy wins the SDN Documentary Prize, and Suvra Kanti Das from Bangladesh and Carol Allen Storey from England are Honorable Mentions.

From a pool of 140 submissions from across the globe, the jurors chose this outstanding work for recognition. We very much want to thank the jurors for support of this project:

• Shahidul Alam, Founder, Drik Photo Agency, Bangladesh
• Barbara Ayotte, Director of Strategic Communications, Management Sciences for Health, Boston
• Dimitri Beck, Editor-in-Chief, Polka Magazine, Paris
• Manoocher Deghati, AP Middle East Regional Photo Editor, Cairo
• Jennifer Pritheeva Samuel, Director, Anastasia Photo, New York
• Glenn Ruga, Founder and Director, SocialDocumentary.net, Boston

Mark Tuschman and Gwenn Dubourthoumieu, the MSH Photography Fellowship Grand Prize winners, will each receive a $4,000 honorarium and an expense-paid two-week assignment to document MSH's global health projects. Fausto Podavini will receive a $1,000 cash award. SDN will have an exhibition of all the winners' work at powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn, NY February 27-March 23, with an opening reception on February 27.

SDN would like to thank all the photographers who submitted to this call for entries. We would also like to thank our NGO partner, MSH, an international nonprofit working on global health issues in more than 50 countries. (www.msh.org) 

CALL FOR ENTRY SUBMISSION
The Copper Eaters  

The "copper belt" situated in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, holds 34% of the world's reserves of cobalt and 10% of the world copper reserves. In early 2011, copper prices reached a historic record: $10,000 US per ton on the London Metal Exchange. Since then, the trend continues, maintaining the price at more than $8,000 US per ton. Taking advantage of this unprecedented boom and of the liberalization of the mining sector organized by the World Bank at the beginning of 2000s, immense fortunes are made shielded behind an opaque management of the revenues. Until now, this wealth has benefited only a minority of wheeler-dealers close to the power. Paradoxically, the situation of the some 200,000 "creuseurs" (artisan miners) who make up the majority of the workers has worsened. This sharp rise in prices has attracted multinational companies that chased thousands of miners away from the richest sites. The revolts by the miners are not rare and are violently repressed.

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Gwenn Dubourthourmieu became interested in photography while working in East Africa and the Horn of Africa (Somaliland, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan) for NGOs. He moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007 and worked as a professional photographer based in Kinshasa from 2010 to 2012, regularly collaborating, among others, with the French Press Agency (AFP). Gwenn recently moved to Paris and currently works as a freelancer. Since 2010, his work has been regularly awarded. This year, he was awarded the Sophot Prize in France, and was finalist of both the Aftermath grant and the Bourse du Talent. Last year, he received the Photoreporter Festival of Saint Brieuc grant to continue a long-term project about copper mining in the Southeastern province of Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, which also reached the final at the Photo Philanthropy Professional Award. In addition, his work "Turkana warriors" has been short listed at the Sony World Photography Awards in the category "Fine Art - Portraiture", and his series of portraits of women victims of sexual violence in Eastern Congo reached the final of the Bourse du Talent. The same year, his feature about "the child-witches of Kinshasa" was awarded the jury's special prize at the 8th Days Japan International Photojournalism Festival. In 2011, the same work was awarded the jury's special mention at the Roger Pic Prize and the investigation prize at the European Journalism Festival. Gwenn also received the Getty Images Creative Grant. In 2010, he was already short listed among the exceptional finalists of the same grant, and was awarded the jury special prize at the International Scoop and Journalism festival of Angers for his work "Etat d'Armes", about ammunitions and weapons stockpiles in the Congo. As a photographer, Gwenn continues his commitment to humanitarian issues and regularly collaborates with NGOs, foundations and United Nations agencies. His work has also been featured in many international magazines (Paris Match, ELLE, Le Figaro Magazine, VSD, Sunday Times Magazine, De Morgen, Der Spiegel, Days Japan, etc) and is permanently exhibited at the Carte Blanche Gallery in San Francisco.

CALL FOR ENTRY SUBMISSION 

WOMEN ON THE EDGE: Intimate Portraits of Courage and Dignity   

For the past decade Mark Tuschman have been on a mission: to document the lack of autonomy that millions of women in developing countries have over their own lives and bodies, and the efforts being made to empower them. The photographs in this exhibit are part of a prospective book titled Women on the Edge: Intimate Portraits of Courage and Dignity.

The intent of this book is simple - to pay tribute to the women I've met and to the millions of other women who share their fate. Through his art, Mark wants to bring these women and their stories to the forefront of world consciousness. He want people to see their faces, feel their pain, and understand both their powerlessness and their magnificent, unshakeable dignity. He would also like to pay tribute to the people and organizations that are working heroically to bring positive advances in healthcare, education, and personal empowerment to women and girls. This book and exhibit is his way of honoring them and also speaking out on their behalf.

View exhibit >>  

Mark Tuschman has worked as an international freelance photographer for more than 33 years. As a photographer committed to issues of global health and development, he received the photographer of the year award from the Global Health Council in 2009-2010.  His work has been featured in many internal health and development conferences, including the Pacific Health Summit in London in 2010, a conference promoting women's reproductive health care; and the Audacia Forum, a conference on girls' education in NY in 2011. Most recently, many of his images were used to illustrate the UNFPA 7 Billion Campaign. His photographs were exhibited at the Women Deliver Conference in Malaysia in 2013. In 2012, he documented the issues of dowry abuse and child brides in India; this work was featured at a one man show at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco. For the past two years, he has been featured in Global Visions, a retrospective juried exhibit at the World Affairs Council.

-Mark Tuschman  

  Photograph by Fausto Podavini: He was born between the mountains and he moved to Rome only because he loved me so much, so that he spent all his life in Rome. It wasn't easy for him, but he did.... how can I forget a person like that? 

CALL FOR ENTRY SUBMISSION
Mirella    

Mirella is the story of a woman, a mother, a wife, a grandmother. Mirella is 71 years old. She spent 43 years of her life with the only person she loved. Forty three years of sharing, difficulties, laughs and beautiful moments: a family, a house, values handed down. In the last six years something changed, Mirella had to fight against her husband's illness, Alzheimer's.

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Fausto Podavini was born in Rome, Italy and works in his hometown. After graduating as an industrial technician specialized in electronics,he completed the Masters in Reportage at the John Kaverdash Academy of Photography in Milan. He started his photographic career as an assistant and studio photographer, quickly shifting to almost exclusively reportage work. Fausto was involved in Mifav (Museum of the Photographic Image and Visual Arts) at the University of Rome- Tor Vergata, where he had the chance to work closely with many photographers and get to know their work. Once he had completely abandoned studio photography, he started freelancing for various NGOs to realize reportages in Italy, Peru, Kenya, and Ethiopia, where he is currently working on some personal projects. In 2009, he started collaborating with the Italian collective of photography WSP, officially becoming a member in 2010; he has since worked with WSP both as a photographer, particularly for collaborative projects, and as a reportage photography teacher. On top of numerous projects in Africa, South America and India, he has also done important projects in his home country, such as a reportage on disability sports, one on a youth correctional facility, and one on Alzheimer's disease.

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Suvra Kanti Das, born in Chandpur, Bangladesh in 1979, is a visual artist. He passed his childhood in Cox's Bazar. At the age of 15, he started photography with his cousin's small film camera. After completing his degree in Computer Science, in 2009 he enrolled in the Pathshala- South Asian Media Academy for a BA in Photography. During his education period, he also participated in many workshops which were organized by different organizations.

In November 2009, he participated in a workshop in Pathshala with collaboration by Bjerkely Folkeh�yskole, Norway. In January 2011, during Chobi Mela VI, Suvra Kanti Das was qualified for Morten Krogvold's workshop. In 2012, he participated in the "International Reporting Workshop" in India for a three-month workshop which was organized under the collaboration programmed of OUC- Norway, Photo circle- Nepal, Drik-India, and Pathshala- South Asian Institute of Photography, from Bangladesh.

At the same time he started working with "Demotix" as a contributing photographer.

Honorable Mention  

Photograph by Carol Allen Storey. Jean-Marie - ex-prisoner. "I was falsely accused of being a part of the killings and hauled into jail without a trial. After seven tortuous years I finally had a Gacaca trial. The judges interrogated me about the murders and I gave them a first-hand account of what I witnessed - based on my testimony, they convicted me as an 'accomplice' but set me free because I had already spent 7 years in jail.."

CALL FOR ENTRY SUBMISSION 

Fractured Lives: The Aftermath of Genocide 

This photographic essay focuses on the daunting task of rebuilding a fractured society through the eyes of  the perpetrators, ex-combatants and survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide along with the vulnerable generation of young Rwandans growing up in an atmosphere clouded by conflict. The aim of this series was to provide a view of the long-term implications of war and, the solutions on the ground to rebuild these fractured lives.

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Carol Allen Storey is an award winning photojournalist specializing in chronicling humanitarian and social issues.

 

"My images are intimate, about issues and citizens I deeply care about. I believe photographs may not be capable of doing the moral work for us, but they can trigger the process of social consciousness."

 

Storey's work has been exhibited and published internationally. In 2009 she was appointed a UNICEF ambassador. Storey recently won 1st Prize in the Act of Kindness International Award 2013, was a finalist in the Taylor-Wessing Portrait Awards exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in 2009, 2011, and 2013, Kontinent Awards - Finalist documentary project, a finalist for Social Documentary in 2008, 2009 and 2010 at the New York Photography Festival, and in 2008 and 2010 she was selected for the Press Photographer's Award Year exhibition. Storey has been a nominee finalist at the International Spider Awards each year from 2008 to 2013. She was shortlisted for the 2011 One Life International Portfolio Award. Commissioned by 'Save the Children',

 

Her solo exhibitions include: 'FRACTURED LIVES' at SW1 Gallery, London, 2012, for International Alert, 'Children of Hope' at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kendal, 2011, for the charity Kasese Street Kids. 'Anything Is Possible' at the Association of Photographers Gallery in London, 2009, for the charity Spirituality for Kids. 'The Vanishing Assets of Africa', an installation at the Inmarsat Gallery in London, 2008, culminating in an auction by Christi's benefiting the charity, T�l�coms Sans Fronti�res. 'The Savagery and Poetry of Africa' at the Proud Gallery, London, 2004, for the international charity WWF.

 

For the past six years, Storey has been developing a personal project, ANGELS at the edge of darkness, which illuminates the plight of women and children managing poverty and the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

 

Storey is a graduate with distinction of the Central St. Martins, Master Photography programme, 2000. She also earned a BA at Syracuse University and her MA at Columbia University. She is a member of Association of Photographers, British Press Photographers Association (board member), Royal Photographic Society, National Press Photographers Association, and World Photography Academy (founding member). 

 

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