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2010 World Press Photo Contest

World Press Photo is now inviting professional photographers and photojournalists to enter the 2010 World Press Photo Contest.

Founded in the Netherlands in 1955, World Press Photo is an independent non-profit organization whose primary goal it is to create international support and attention for professional press photographers. Throughout the years, World Press Photo has developed into an independent platform for photojournalism and free exchange of information.

In order to achieve its goal, World Press Photo organizes an annual press photography contest that has become one of the largest contests in the field of press photography.

In the 2009 World Press Photo Contest, 96.268 images were submitted by 5.508 photographers from 124 countries. The winning pictures are composed into a traveling exhibition that attracts more than 2 million visitors every year at more than 90 locations worldwide.

Contest entry information in seven languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) is available on: www.worldpressphoto.org/contest

Entries to the 2010 World Press Photo Contest can only be submitted online.

To submit entries online, a user name and password are needed. Both can be requested on our website www.worldpressphoto.org/contest between 1 December 2009 and 8 January 2010.

Images may be entered as single images or stories/portfolios in ten categories: Spot News, General News, People in the News, Sports Action, Sports Feature, Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, Portraits, Arts and Entertainment and Nature.

The deadline for submitting entries to the 2010 World Press Photo Contest is 14 January 2010, 23.59 Central European Time.

If you have further questions, please send an email to: contest@worldpressphoto.org

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Message from Maxime Verhagen on Human Rights Day – December 10th, 2009

Men, women and children, no matter who they are, no matter where they live, no matter what they do, have rights that can never be taken away from them. Governments around the world have an obligation to protect and promote these universal rights, but in many instances, they fail their own citizens.

The tenth of December marks the worldwide celebration of Human Rights Day. It’s not a day we can afford to let pass unnoticed! Today, we honour those people who are brave enough to stand up for their rights and the rights of others, despite the resistance they encounter. In many countries, human rights defenders work in extremely difficult circumstances, at great personal risk, and they deserve our full support.

The Dutch government wants to lend a helping hand to human rights defenders all over the world. We do this through our embassies, which support local human rights defenders and their organisations. And as foreign minister, I regularly urge local authorities to improve the situation of human rights defenders and give them the protection they deserve. Last month, the Dutch government presented Ms Shadi Sadr, a human rights activist from Iran, with the second annual Human Rights Defenders Tulip. This award is a clear token of respect for and recognition of the important work that human rights defenders do.

The European Union has a part to play in all this as well. The EU has issued guidelines to ensure the protection of human rights defenders. As of today these guidelines will be published on the websites of all Dutch embassies worldwide, to raise awareness of their existence and facilitate access to them.

We do this so that human rights defenders know they are not alone in their struggle and that they have friends to turn to, to support them in their work. Their courageous efforts must not go unnoticed. Not on the tenth of December, or any other day.

Rijksakademie Call for Entries

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The Rijksakademie Residency in Amsterdam is an international research and production place for emerging, professional artists from all continents. The Rijksakademie is more than a residency. It has extensive technical facilities, a library and an art collection. In addition, the Rijksakademie offers basic facilities such as a studio, assistance by technical specialists, a work budget, and mediation with accommodation and grants.

There are approximately fifty studios where resident artists work for a period of one to two years on research, experiment, projects and production. Confrontation with diverse cultures and advice by internationally active artists, curators and others, promote the deepening, expansion and acceleration of artistic practice.

A period at the Rijksakademie has the greatest effect on an artists' career, three to five years of professional experience before applying. Primary selection criteria are excellence and possibilities for further development. An ability for critical reflection and sufficient focus within the work are important in order to be able to make optimum use of the facilities the Rijksakademie offers.

Resident artists pursue all major contemporary visual art disciplines: painting, drawing, graphics, photography, print-making, sculpture, video, film, sound and digital media. Links with other disciplines such as architecture, music, dance, literature and cinematography are possible.

Application

Each year, out of almost 2000 applicants, around twenty-five artists are invited for a residency period.Artists can apply for the residency January to December 2011 by using the online application form. The deadline for application is 1 February 2010.

Information: www.rijksakademie.nl