Our World Now – Book Presentation

Although this week’s events will discuss the power of the written word, the first presentation of the 2009 edition of the International Journalism Festival reminded us also of the power of the image.

The editor of the Southern European sector of Reuters, Tiziana Barghini, introduced the compilation of 2008’s best photos  (“Our World Now”) by mentioning some of the 600 photographers in 200 countries that capture images on a daily basis, while sometimes risking their lives.

Following Barghini’s introduction were a collection of films produced by Reuters to recognise the fifth year of US occupation in Iraq.

What these films demonstrated, above all, were the sacrifices that journalists, and particularly, photojournalists make in order to ensure that readers are given an accurate, un-biased and truthful eye-witness account of the human experiences abroad. It is the photographers, explained the film, that are out on the streets. It is the photographers that, while documenting situations like Iraq, sometimes fall victim to the devastation of war like the hundreds of civilians they photograph everyday.

Guest speaker Samia Nakoul, the Middle East news editor for Reuters, was one such journalist, who underwent brain surgery in a Baghdad hospital after being caught in a bomb attack while reporting from the Iraqi capital.

Barghini and Nakoul speeches were accompanied by projected images from the book that took us into Iraqi homes and hospitals, led us through the chaos of Mumbai, showed us the panic-striken faces of hostages in Caracas and brought us face to face with experiences that for most, geography usually forbids.

After learning the names of seven Reuters journalists that were killed while working in Iraq (all at the hands of the US military), the presentation seemed to serve as a reminder to value not only what an image captures, but also the person behind the lense that captured it.

Bridget Davis