11th Edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award
Call for Applications: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Submission deadline: Wednesday, 16th October, 2019 at midnight (GMT)

The 11th Edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award is dedicated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and to the human, social and ecological challenges it faces today.

Four times the size of France, this continent-sized country irrigated by the Congo River benefits from immense natural and mineral resources; the world’s largest rainforest after the Amazon; the world’s largest producer of cobalt and coltan (metals which have strategic importance for our electronic equipment), the second largest producer of diamonds... But the DR Congo, ripped apart by recurrent inter-community and political conflicts, also accumulates misery, epidemics and clashes.

The DR Congo is one of the lowest countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) ranking. Its literacy level is rising, but public health is in a state of abandonment, and violence towards women and children is endemic. Despite having the largest freshwater resource in Africa, it has the lowest level of access to drinkable water. It has one of the worst records in terms of transport infrastructure. It also tops the charts globally in terms of deforestation and the monopolisation of land and raw materials.

The Carmignac Photojournalism Award aims to support a journalistic and photographic project which will document these complex realities, but also address the grounds for hope for the 90 million inhabitants of the DRC, of which 60% are younger than 20 years old: education and public health initiatives; conservation initiatives for wildlife; and the fight against trafficking, corruption and the control of a few individuals and multinationals over mining exploitation.

The Jury

The jury will meet in Paris in November 2019. It is made up of:
Simon Baker - Director of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP)
Maryline Baumard - Editor-in-Chief, Le Monde Afrique
Comfort Ero - Africa Program Director, International Crisis Group
Meaghan Looram - Director of Photography, The New York Times
Julienne Lusenge - President of Female Solidarity for Integrated Peace and Development and Director of FFC
Fiona Shields - Director of Photography, The Guardian
The Laureate of the 10th Edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award

The pre-jury

The pre-jury has the task of selecting between 12 and 15 proposals. It is made up of:
Magdalena Herrera - Director of Photography, GEO France
Nicolas Jimenez - Photography Director of Le Monde
Nick Kirkpatrick - Photo Editor for Special Projects and Investigations, The Washington Post

Selection Process

The selection of the laureate will take place in two stages:
1. The pre-jury, made up of directors of photography, has the task of selecting between 12 and 15 proposals from those received.
2. The jury, consisting of specialists in photography and in the given theme, choose a winning project. At the end of the selection process, the jury meets the winning photographer, in order to talk to him or her and, if necessary, to provide the support he or she will need throughout the duration of their project – from the preparation of the reportage to its final exhibition.

The photographers will need to submit their dossier before Wednesday 16th October 2019 at midnight (GMT) here

Submission is entirely free of charge.

The Carmignac Photojournalism Award

In 2009, while media and photojournalism faced an unprecedented crisis, Édouard Carmignac created the Carmignac Photojournalism Award in order to support photographers working in the field. Directed by Emeric Glayse, it annually funds the production of an investigative photo reportage into human rights violations globally and the related geostrategic issues. Selected by an international jury, the laureate receives a grant of €50,000 enabling them to carry out a reportage on the ground for 6 months with the support of the Carmignac Foundation which presents a travelling exhibition and the publication of a monographic book upon their return.

Previous editions of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award have focused on: Gaza (Kai Wiedenhöfer); Pachtunistan (Massimo Berruti); Zimbabwe (Robin Hammond); Chechnya (Davide Monteleone); Iran (Newsha Tavakolian); Guyana (Christophe Gin); Libya (Narciso Contreras); Nepal (Lizzie Sadin); and the Arctic (Kadir van Lohuizen and Yuri Kozyrev) and the Amazon.

To find out more: www.fondationcarmignac.com/en/photojournalism

Fondation Carmignac

The Fondation Carmignac, created in 2000, is a corporate foundation centered around two main focuses: an art collection of more than 300 works, and the Photojournalism Award which is issued annually. In partnership with the Fondation Carmignac, directed by Charles Carmignac, Villa Carmignac, an exhibition space open to the public, was created on the site of Porquerolles in order to exhibit the collection and to host cultural and artistic events. To find out more: www.fondationcarmignac.com