World Press Photo unveils the regional winners of its 2024 Contest, presenting an exceptional collection of photojournalism and documentary photography that captures the essence of global narratives. These awarded pieces encourage audiences to delve beyond the surface of daily news, offering a more profound exploration of significant yet often unseen stories from every corner of the planet.
This year’s competition highlights 24 winning projects alongside six honorable mentions. A staggering 61,062 submissions from 3,851 photographers spanning 130 countries were meticulously evaluated to arrive at these winners. Four global winners will be announced on April 18.
NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA – SINGLES winner – Title: A Day in the Life of a Quebec Fire Crew: Theo Dagnaud scans the horizon to ensure that firefighter patrols have left, and he can mark the area as “controlled”. Quebec, Canada, July 13. 2023.
© Charles-Frédérick Ouellet, for The Globe and Mail, CALQ
NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA – LONG-TERM PROJECTS winner – Title: The Two Walls: Migrants use a homemade ladder to climb a section of the border wall with the help of a smuggler. Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, April 1. 2021.
© Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg
EUROPE – SINGLES winner – Title: A Father’s Pain: Mesut Hançer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, killed while asleep when her grandmother’s home collapsed during an earthquake in southern Turkey. Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, February 7. 2023.
© Adem Altan, Agence France-Presse
EUROPE – LONG-TERM PROJECTS winner – Title: No Man’s Land: Demonstrators evade a police blockade, then climb back onto the road to reach the railroad track along which coal travels from the Hambach open pit mine to three power plants. Three local mines produce 100 million tons of coal annually. Bedburg, Germany, August 26. 2017.
© Daniel Chatard
AFRICA – SINGLES winner – Title: Returning Home from War: Kibrom Berhane (24) greets his mother for the first time since he joined the Tigray Defense Forces, two years earlier. Saesie Tsada, Ethiopia, September 21. 2023.
© Vincent Haiges, Real 21
AFRICA – STORIES winner – Title: Valim-babena: Dada Paul and his granddaughter Odliatemix get ready for church. He has lived with dementia for 11 years. For much of that time his family assumed he had “gone mad” or attributed the symptoms to alcohol consumption. Only his daughter Fara noticed something different and continued caring for him. Antananarivo, Madagascar, March 12. 2023.
© Lee-Ann Olwage, for GEO
ASIA – SINGLES winner – Title: A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece: Inas Abu Maamar (36) cradles the body of her niece Saly (5) who was killed, along with four other family members, when an Israeli missile struck their home. Khan Younis, Gaza, October 17. 2023.
© Mohammed Salem, Reuters
ASIA – STORIES winner – Title: Afghanistan on the Edge: An Afghan woman rests in the desert, near a camp housing people recently deported from Pakistan, close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Torkham, Afghanistan, November 17. 2023.
© Ebrahim Noroozi, Associated Press
SOUTH AMERICA – SINGLES winner – Title: Drought in the Amazon: A fisherman walks across the dry bed of a branch of the Amazon River, near the Porto Praia Indigenous community. Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil, October 13. 2023.
© Lalo de Almeida, for Folha de São Paulo
SOUTH AMERICA – STORIES winner – Title: Red Skies, Green Waters: Neighbors play Animal Lotto under a sky lit by one of the world’s largest gas flares. Punta de Mata, Venezuela, November 5. 2022.
© Adriana Loureiro Fernandez, for The New York Times
SOUTH AMERICA – HONORABLE MENTION winner – Title: Insurrection: Supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro storm the Presidential Palace, in Brasília, Brazil, on January 8. 2023.
© Gabriela Biló, for Folha de São Paulo
SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA – SINGLES winner – Title: Fighting, Not Sinking: Lotomau Fiafia (72), a community elder, stands with his grandson John at the point where he remembers the shoreline used to be when he was a boy. Salia Bay, Kioa Island, Fiji, August 8. 2023.
© Eddie Jim, The Age/Sydney Morning Herald
SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA – LONG-TERM PROJECTS winner – Title: Revolution in Myanmar: Anti-coup protesters handed flowers to riot police saying, “You are the people’s police”. Yangon, Myanmar, February 6. 2021.
© Ta Mwe, Sacca Photo, VII Foundation, Frontline Club, W. Eugene Smith Grant
SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA – HONORABLE MENTION – Title: Pollution in the Cileungsi River: A resident catches fish at a once-scenic waterfall on the Cileungsi River. The thick foam on the water is largely a product of waste runoff from nearby industries. Curug Parigi, Indonesia, August 27. 2023.
© Arie Basuki
JURY SPECIAL MENTIONS – Title: Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza: A resident of al-Zahra walks through the rubble of homes destroyed in Israeli airstrikes. The strikes hit around 25 apartment blocks in the university and residential neighborhood. At the time of writing (4 March 2024), Israel’s attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories during the Israel-Hamas war had killed some 30,000 people and injured more than 70,000. Gaza City, Gaza, October 19. 2023.
© Mustafa Hassouna, Anadolu Images
