What does it take to lead the world's most prestigious photojournalism foundation as it confronts its own 70-year history? In this insightful conversation, we sit down with Joumana El Zein Khoury, the Executive Director of the World Press Photo Foundation. Joumana brings a unique background to the role, having spent 15 years championing culture working for foundations such as the Prince Claus Fund and the Arab Image Foundation, where she first realized the power of producing your own images to tell your own story.
This episode is a celebration of the foundation's 70th Anniversary, but it’s also a deep dive into the profound changes Joumana has implemented. We trace her journey into the role and discuss the structural shifts she guided, most notably the new regional contest model, which was essential to put the "world" back into World Press Photo and resulted in 80% of winners being local photographers.
We then pull back the curtain on the intense mechanics of WPP, covering the rigorous process behind the scenes: what it takes to present your work; we find out how the judging rounds are done; the massive effort to critically examine WPP's own 70-year archive to confront historical stereotypes; and how the prestigious Joop Swart Masterclass was totally revamped to equip mentees with a sustainable survival toolkit. Finally, we discuss the immense challenge of maintaining trust and accuracy in an age where misinformation and generative AI threaten the very core of photojournalism. This is a must-listen for anyone invested in the future and ethics of visual storytelling.
📸 See more of World Press Photo:
https://www.worldpressphoto.org/
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