Documentography

Documentography is an international collective of photographers working across the fields of documentary, reportage, portraiture and fine art. The group was formed in 2000 and since then has grown and diversified, building on individual and group successes. The group develops personal works as well as common projects tackling a wide range of social, political, and cultural issues.

The six documentography photographers have won numerous awards and their work has been published and exhibited internationally. Eduardo Martino is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Magali Corouge is in Paris, France. Anna Kåri is in Ouagadougou and Guilhem Alandry in Cairo. Dominick Tyler and Muzi Quawson are in London.

Documentography believes in the fundamental power of images to communicate and aims to exercise that power humbly, honestly and humanely.

Sustainable Travel

"Eclipse, Libya" by Philip Lee Harvey

Summer's here!
Stay clear of the canned, tourist-trap vacations and check out these tips on great, eco-adventures.

National Geographic has produced regional US/Canada/Mexico maps that inform travellers on geotourism.

National Geographic Traveler magazine is also in partnership with them...
Check out their blog, Intelligent Travel. A contemporary and consumer oriented platform with a focus on authentic, cultural and sustainable travel.

One of NG Traveler's more compelling efforts is the Geotourism Challenge, where they invite people around the world to showcase their ideas for how to be a more sustainable destination. Truly inspiring work!

...and you'll never have to wait in long lines in Orlando again!

Congrats Chouchou! 2009 Knight International Journalism Award Winner

New update on Chouchou and AFEM! She has been a busy lady as of late. Three months after receiving the Fern Holland - Vital Voices award in Washington D.C. and testifying before the U.S. Senate last month, Chouchou has won the Knight International Journalism Award too!

Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu, in her radio reports, brought to global attention how women in the Democratic Republic of Congo are raped and brutalized as a tactic of war. She has also organized a network of women journalists to cover key issues.

Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu uses community radio to report on the sexual violence against women in the lawless eastern section of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At great personal risk, the self-taught radio journalist traveled through refugee camps in remote regions to collect wrenching personal accounts from women traumatized by violence. In 12 years of conflict, more than six million people have died and hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped and tortured.

“As a journalist who challenges long-held cultural beliefs and exposes the brutality of a regional war that is being fought on the bodies of women, Chouchou puts her life on the line each and every day,” said playwright Eve Ensler, one of those who nominated Namegabe for the award. Namegabe continues to face threats, especially after her powerful testimony in 2007 urging the International Court of Justice to classify rape as a political weapon in the Congo.

Namegabe also founded the South Kivu Association of Women Journalists (AFEM) and began equipping other women with microphones and radios to report more stories, including investigations of corruption and government mismanagement. In a culture in which women are shamed into silence, she has helped women find their voices and given them a support network to grow professionally as journalists.

More about this :

http://www.knight.icfj.org/Awards/KnightAwardsOverview/ChouchouNamegabebrNabintu/tabid/1367/Default.aspx

http://www.icfj.org/News/PressReleases/KnightAward2009PressRelease/tabid/1371/Default.aspx

http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20090623.133504&time=05%2000%20PDT&year=2009&public=0

FEED me

While Jared Tomlinston was the in-house graphic designer at Ralph Lauren, he designed the logo on the popular FEED Foundation bags that are found at Whole Foods that help benefit Rwandan children. Currently, FEED is continuing their expansion and has evolved a beaded embellished version of the bag that will be used to raise money for projects in Kenya.

Soon after his stint at Ralph Lauren, Jared partnered up with his longtime friend, Eric Lobb, to start Blackrose, a graphic design and art direction consultancy company. They have worked extensively with the fashion industry and are always interested to hear about new projects. (For profit and non-for-profits) For more info on their work please contact: info@blackrosenyc.com

Demotix: Journalism for the 21st Century

Demotix: News By You - Contributers in Iran this past week

Demotix is a citizen-journalism website and photo agency. It takes user-generated content (UGC) and photographs from freelance journalists and amateurs, and markets them to the mainstream media.

Demotix was founded with two principles at its heart - the freedom of speech and the freedom to know. Its objective is nothing if not ambitious - to rescue journalism and promote free expression by connecting independent journalists with the traditional media. Demotix was recently honored with a Guardian Media award for independent media.

Demotix now has over 5000 members, in 110 countries around the world from Afghanistan to Zambia.

Matt Pascarella recently informed me about Demotix and I think it is a great innovative platform for new media.   The documentation from this week's fallout from Iran's election is an excellent example of how ordinary citizens are getting the word out about the injustices happening in Tehran while chronicling the revolution taking place on the streets real-time.  Demotix is truly,"The News By You".

Matt's work with Demotix is geared around helping them develop a presence here in the States—both with selling content to media organizations, generating press about their work, and helping them to form strategic partnerships.

If you are interested in getting involved with Demotix's work please contact Matt at: matt@mattpascarella.com