The Rotary Club of Auckland bought the internationally -renowned World Press Photo Exhibition back to New Zealand for the fourth consecutive year. The exhibition, which ran from 6 – 28 July, featured the best images from over 100,000 entries of photographers around the world. The prize-winning photographs are assembled into a travelling exhibition that is viewed by over a million people in 40 countries.
The event has become part of the Club’s annual fundraising activities with proceeds going to the Rotary Foundation. Club President, Craig Dealey says, “The exhibition is a fundraising initiative that fits with Rotary International’s values around health, education, poverty and harmony, with one of the Club’s guiding principles being the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace.”
“The exhibition itself gives New Zealanders the chance to see the calibre of photography from the world stage and serves as a vivid reminder of how precious the relative peace and prosperity we get to enjoy in New Zealand really is,” Dealey says. This year, 5,666 photographers from 124 nationalities submitted 103,481 photographs into the competition. An international jury of 21 photography professionals judged the exhibition, which has been running for 56 years.
The winning picture shot by photojournalist Paul Hansen from the daily Swedish newspaper The Daegens Nyheter, shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City.
The exhibition had around 9,500 visitors again this year and provided great profiling for Rotary. The Club also held its changeover function at the exhibition, which included invitations to prospective members through its Rotary young Professionals initiative. This has resulted in at least one new member being inducted along with others who are keen to find out more about Rotary.
Web: www.rotary.co.nz
