World Press Photo announces global winners for 2024

18 April 2024
Comments Comments

Mohammed Salem, a Palestinian Reuters photographer, has won the prestigious World Press Photo for 2024, the highest honour in photojournalism.

World Press Photo of the Year, A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece. Mohammed Salem, Palestine, Reuters
World Press Photo of the Year, A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece. Mohammed Salem, Palestine, Reuters.

His image, A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece, shows Inas Abu Maamar (36) cradling the body of her niece Saly (5) who was killed, along with her mother and sister, when an Israeli missile struck their home, in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Salem was in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 17 at the Nasser Hospital morgue, where residents were going to search for missing relatives.

He saw the woman squatting on the ground in the morgue, sobbing and tightly embracing the child’s body.

The photographer describes this photo, taken just days after his own wife gave birth, as a “powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip”.

“People were confused, running from one place to another, anxious to know the fate of their loved ones, and this woman caught my eye as she was holding the body of the little girl and refused to let go.”

Inas Abu Maamar said she had raced to the house of her uncle when she had heard that it had been hit, and then on to the morgue.

“I lost my conscience when I saw the girl, I took her in my arms,” she said. “The doctor asked me to let go... but I told them to leave her with me.”

The World Press Photo jury commented on how the image was composed with care and respect, offering at once a metaphorical and literal glimpse into unimaginable loss.

The World Press Photo story of the Year was awarded to Lee-Ann Olwage, South Africa, for GEO, for her series Valim-babena.

Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Dada Paul and his granddaughter Odliatemix get ready for church. He has lived with dementia for 11 years. For much of that time his family assumed he had “gone mad” or attributed the symptoms to alcohol consumption. Only his daughter Fara noticed something different and continued caring for him. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.
Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Dada Paul and his granddaughter Odliatemix get ready for church. He has lived with dementia for 11 years. For much of that time his family assumed he had “gone mad” or attributed the symptoms to alcohol consumption. Only his daughter Fara noticed something different and continued caring for him. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.
Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Fara and her daughter Odliatemix lie together on the bed they share with Dada Paul. Fara is the sole provider for the family of three. Only one organization in Madagascar, Masoandro Mody, provides support and training to family members of people living with dementia. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.
Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Fara and her daughter Odliatemix lie together on the bed they share with Dada Paul. Fara is the sole provider for the family of three. Only one organization in Madagascar, Masoandro Mody, provides support and training to family members of people living with dementia. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.
Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Fara looks on as Dada Paul cleans a fish, as he does every Sunday afternoon. His fingers tremble as he does so, but he can still manage the task and finds it calming. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.
Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Fara looks on as Dada Paul cleans a fish, as he does every Sunday afternoon. His fingers tremble as he does so, but he can still manage the task and finds it calming. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.
Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Fara Rafaraniriana walks to church on Sunday morning with her daughter Odliatemix and her father Dada Paul. Fara first recognized Dada Paul’s dementia when he, a retired chauffeur, couldn’t find his way home after picking her up from work. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.
Africa Stories, Lee-Ann Olwage for GEO. Fara Rafaraniriana walks to church on Sunday morning with her daughter Odliatemix and her father Dada Paul. Fara first recognized Dada Paul’s dementia when he, a retired chauffeur, couldn’t find his way home after picking her up from work. Antananarivo, Madagascar, 12 March 2023.

In Madagascar, lack of public awareness surrounding dementia means that people displaying symptoms of memory loss are often stigmatized.

The jury commented: “This story tackles a universal health issue through the lens of family and care. The selection of images are composed with warmth and tenderness reminding viewers of the love and closeness necessary in a time of war and aggression worldwide.”

This story is part of a longer term body of work by Olwage about dementia. 

The World Press Photo long-term project award went to Venezuela's Alejandro Cegarra, for his series The Two Walls.

North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Ever Sosa (center) carries his daughter on his shoulders as they cross the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico, joining a caravan of 3,000 migrants and asylum seekers attempting to get to the United States. In 2019, Mexico granted humanitarian visas for a similar caravan, but by 2020, the policy shifted, calling for the dismantling of any caravan. Thus, thousands were forced to reach Mexico by crossing the Suchiate river rather than using the Dr. Rodolfo Robles International Bridge. Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, 20 January 2023
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Ever Sosa (center) carries his daughter on his shoulders as they cross the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico, joining a caravan of 3,000 migrants and asylum seekers attempting to get to the United States. In 2019, Mexico granted humanitarian visas for a similar caravan, but by 2020, the policy shifted, calling for the dismantling of any caravan. Thus, thousands were forced to reach Mexico by crossing the Suchiate river rather than using the Dr. Rodolfo Robles International Bridge. Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, 20 January 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Migrants use a homemade ladder to climb a section of the border wall with the help of a smuggler. Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, 1 April 2021.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Migrants use a homemade ladder to climb a section of the border wall with the help of a smuggler. Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, 1 April 2021.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Carlos Mendoza, a Venezuelan migrant, crosses the Rio Grande river to seek asylum in the United States. Piedras Negras, Mexico, 7 October 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Carlos Mendoza, a Venezuelan migrant, crosses the Rio Grande river to seek asylum in the United States. Piedras Negras, Mexico, 7 October 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. The De Coto family poses for a portrait aboard “The Beast” while heading to Ciudad Juarez. This photo was taken three days before the expiration of Title 42, a US COVID-19 prevention measure that in effect allowed deportation of migrants without reviewing asylum claims. Since 2020, there have been over two million expulsions of migrants by US Customs and Border Protection under Title 42. Samalayuca, Mexico, 8 May 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. The De Coto family poses for a portrait aboard “The Beast” while heading to Ciudad Juarez. This photo was taken three days before the expiration of Title 42, a US COVID-19 prevention measure that in effect allowed deportation of migrants without reviewing asylum claims. Since 2020, there have been over two million expulsions of migrants by US Customs and Border Protection under Title 42. Samalayuca, Mexico, 8 May 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Ruben Soto (right), a migrant from Venezuela, sits with Rosa Bello, a Honduran migrant, on top of “The Beast.” Ruben and Rosa met in Mexico and fell in love on their way to the United States. Samalayuca, Mexico, 8 May 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Ruben Soto (right), a migrant from Venezuela, sits with Rosa Bello, a Honduran migrant, on top of “The Beast.” Ruben and Rosa met in Mexico and fell in love on their way to the United States. Samalayuca, Mexico, 8 May 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Mexican immigration officers inspect the train known as “The Beast” for immigrants and asylum seekers in an attempt to reduce the flow of migrants towards the border of the United States. Samalayuca, Mexico, 13 May 2023.
North and Central America, Long-Term Projects, Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. Mexican immigration officers inspect the train known as “The Beast” for immigrants and asylum seekers in an attempt to reduce the flow of migrants towards the border of the United States. Samalayuca, Mexico, 13 May 2023.

Since 2019, Mexico's immigration policies have undergone a significant shift, transforming from a nation historically open to migrants and asylum seekers at its southern border to a country that enforces stringent immigration policies.

Drawing from his own first-hand experience of migrating from his native Venezuela to Mexico in 2017, photographer Alejandro Cegarra initiated this project in 2018. The jury felt that this photographer's own position as a migrant afforded a sensitive human centered perspective that centers the agency and resilience of migrants. 

And finally, the Open Format award went to Julia Kochetova, Ukraine for her series War Is Personal.

World Press Photo Open Format award, Julia Kochetova, Ukraine, War Is Personal.
World Press Photo Open Format award, Julia Kochetova, Ukraine, War Is Personal.

Amidst tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and an effective stalemate that has lasted for months, there are no signs of peace on the horizon for Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

While news media updates its audience with statistics and maps, and international attention drifts elsewhere, the photographer has created a website that brings together photojournalism with the personal documentary style of a diary to show the world what it is like to live with war as an everyday reality.

This project weaves together photographic images with poetry, audio clips, and music in collaboration with a Ukrainian illustrator and DJ.

The awarded photographs were selected from 61,062 entries by 3,851 photographers from 130 countries. They were judged first by six regional juries, and the winners were then chosen by a global jury consisting of the regional jury chairs plus the global jury chair. 

The global winners are selected from the 24 regional winners, which you can see here.

comments powered by Disqus