World Press Photo Contest 2022: Global winners revealed

August 2024 · 5 minute read

Amber Bracken's picture, entitled Kamloops Residential School, has been named World Press Photo of the Year.

Amber Bracken for The New York Times Crosses with dresses hung on them are seen by a road with a rainbow in the backgroundAmber Bracken for The New York Times

Taken for The New York Times, the image shows orange dresses hung on crosses along a roadside to commemorate children who died at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, an institution created to assimilate indigenous children, in British Columbia, Canada.

The photo was shot in June 2021, following the detection of as many as 215 unmarked graves at the site of the former school, which closed in 1978.

"It is an image that sears itself into your memory, it inspires a kind of sensory reaction," said jury chairperson Rena Effendi.

"I could almost hear the quietness in this photograph, a quiet moment of global reckoning for the history of colonisation, not only in Canada but around the world."

Ms Bracken's photo also won the Singles award in the regional North and Central America category.

The World Press Photo Contest recognises the best photojournalism and documentary photography.

This year's winners were chosen from 64,823 entries taken by 4,066 photographers from 130 countries.

Matthew Abbott was named the winner of the World Press Photo Story of the Year category, with his series Saving Forests with Fire, taken for National Geographic and Panos Pictures.

Matthew Abbott taken for National Geographic Nawarddeken elder Conrad Maralngurra burns grass to protect the Mamadawerre community from late-season 'wildfires', in Mamadawerre, Arnhem Land, Australia, on 3 May 2021Matthew Abbott taken for National Geographic

The photos show indigenous Australians strategically burning land in a practice known as Cool Burning, in which fires move slowly, burn only the undergrowth, and remove the build-up of fuel that feeds bigger blazes.

The series featured the Nawarddeken people of West Arnhem Land, Australia, who have been carrying out the practice for tens of thousands of years.

Matthew Abbott taken for National Geographic Indigenous Australians set the bark of trees alight to produce a natural light source to help hunt for file snakes in Djulkar, Arnhem Land, Australia, on 22 July 2021Matthew Abbott taken for National Geographic

The jury chose Amazonian Dystopia by Lalo de Almeida as the winner of the Long-Term Project Award.

Lalo de Almeida, taken for Folha de São Paulo An aerial view of the construction of the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River, Altamira, Pará, Brazil, on 3 September 2013Lalo de Almeida, taken for Folha de São Paulo

The photos, taken for Folha de São Paulo and Panos Pictures, show the threat to the Amazon rainforest from deforestation, mining, infrastructural development and the exploitation of natural resources under Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro.

"This project portrays something that does not just have negative effects on the local community, but also globally, as it triggers a chain of reactions," said Ms Effendi.

The series also won the Stories award in the regional Southeast Asia and Oceania category.

Lalo de Almeida taken for Folha de São Paulo Members of the Munduruku community line up to board a plane at Altamira Airport, in Pará, Brazil, on 14 June 2013Lalo de Almeida taken for Folha de São Paulo

Blood is a Seed, by Isadora Romero, was awarded the World Press Photo Open Format Award.

Through personal stories and a journey to Ms Romero's ancestral village of Une, Cundinamarca, Colombia, the project questions the disappearance of seeds, forced migration, colonisation, and the subsequent loss of ancestral knowledge.

Isadora Romero Poster for the Blood is a Seed photo project by Isadora RomeroIsadora Romero

The World Press Photo regional winners were also announced, some of which can be seen below, with captions from the competition.

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Africa, Singles: Sudan Protests, by Faiz Abubakr Mohamed, Sudan

Faiz Abubakr Mohamed A protester throws back a tear-gas canister during a march demanding an end to military rule, in Khartoum, Sudan, on 30 December 2021Faiz Abubakr MohamedA protester throws back a tear gas canister that had been fired by security forces during a march demanding an end to military rule, in Khartoum, Sudan, on 30 December 2021BBC line

Africa, Stories: Afraid to go to School, by Sodiq Adelakun Adekola, Nigeria, for Agence France-Presse

Sodiq Adelakun Adekola taken for AFP Aminah Labaran (not her real name) cries at home, in Jangebe, Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, on 27 February 2021, the day after her two daughters were abductedSodiq Adelakun Adekola taken for AFPAminah Labaran (not her real name) cries at home, in Jangebe, Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, on 27 February 2021, the day after her two daughters were abducted. Gunmen, apparently from a bandit group, snatched 279 girls from dormitories in the middle of the night, at the Government Girls Secondary School in the villageBBC line

Asia, Singles: Palestinian Children in Gaza, by Fatima Shbair, Gaza, for Getty Images

Fatima Shbair taken for Getty Images Palestinian children gather with candles during a fragile ceasefire in Beit Lahia, Gaza, on 25 May 2021, after a protest by children in the neighbourhood against attacks on Gaza.Fatima Shbair taken for Getty ImagesPalestinian children gather with candles during a ceasefire in Beit Lahia, Gaza, on 25 May 2021BBC line

Asia, Stories: The Cinema of Kabul, by Bram Janssen, the Netherlands, for the Associated Press

Bram Janssen taken for AP Gul Mohammed, who works as an usher in the Ariana Cinema in Kabul, Afghanistan, poses for a photograph on 4 November 2021Bram Janssen taken for APGul Mohammed, who works as an usher in the Ariana Cinema in Kabul, Afghanistan, poses for a photograph on 4 November 2021, nearly three months after the Taliban closed the cinemaBBC line

Europe, Singles: Evia Island Wildfires, by Konstantinos Tsakalidis, Greece, for Bloomberg News

Konstantinos Tsakalidis taken for Bloomberg News An elderly woman cries out as a wildfire approaches her house in the village of Gouves, on the island of Evia, Greece, on 8 August 2021Konstantinos Tsakalidis taken for Bloomberg NewsPanayiota Kritsiopi cries out as a wildfire approaches her house in the village of Gouves, on the island of Evia, Greece, on 8 August 2021BBC line

Europe, Stories: As Frozen Land Burns, by Nanna Heitmann, Russia/Germany, for Magnum Photos

Nanna Heitmann taken for Magnum Photos Local firefighting volunteers take a break for food in a field in Magaras, central Sakha, Siberia, Russia, on 1 July 2021Nanna Heitmann taken for Magnum PhotosLocal firefighting volunteers take a break for food in Magaras, central Sakha, Siberia, Russia, on 1 July 2021BBC line

North and Central America, Stories: The People Who Feed the United States, by Ismail Ferdous, Bangladesh, for Agence VU'

Ismail Ferdous taken for Agence VU' Sandra Sibert sits with her husband, James, in the room where she had to stay in isolation with Covid-19, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USAIsmail Ferdous taken for Agence VU'Sandra Sibert sits with her husband, James, in the room where she had to stay in isolation with Covid-19, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA, on 7 September 2020BBC line

South America, Singles: San Isidro Settlement Eviction, by Vladimir Encina, Colombia

Vladimir Encina Police agents arrest a man while his wife and family resist, during evictions of people from the San Isidro settlement, in Puerto Caldas, Risaralda, Colombia, on 6 March 2021Vladimir EncinaPolice agents arrest a man while his wife and family resist, during evictions of people from the San Isidro settlement, in Puerto Caldas, Risaralda, Colombia, on 6 March 2021BBC line

South America, Stories: The Promise, by Irina Werning, Argentina, for Pulitzer Center

Irina Werning taken for Pulitzer Center Antonella studies in her bedroom via Zoom, using her mother's mobile phone, in her room at home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 13 June 2021Irina Werning taken for Pulitzer CenterAntonella studies via Zoom, using her mother's mobile phone, in her room at home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 13 June 2021BBC line

Southeast Asia and Oceania, Singles: Slingshots, by anonymous, for The New York Times

Anonymous taken for The New York Times Protesters use slingshots and other homemade weapons in a clash with security forces in Yangon, MyanmarAnonymous taken for The New York TimesProtesters use slingshots and other homemade weapons in a clash with security forces in Yangon, Myanmar

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