World Press Photo director emphasises on visual literacy for mainstream education

World Press Photo Foundation's Executive Director Joumana El Zein Khoury explains the importance of visual literacy at a discussion held at DrikPath Bhaban today in the evening. Ms Khoury is visiting Bangladesh on the occasion of the global tour of the World Press Photo Exhibition 2022 in Bangladesh hosted at Drik Gallery, Dhaka.

Visual literacy equips us to understand and analyze the contextual, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, and technical components involved in the production and use of visual materials. During the talk, Ms Khoury discussed how visuals used in mainstream education can change the entire dynamics of learning. The discussion session was moderated by Shahidul Alam, founder of Drik Picture Library.

Meanwhile, a meeting was organised at Drik Gallery with the Editors' Council of local newspapers today at 11 am. Mahfuz Anam, Editor and Publisher, The Daily Star, Nurul Kabir, Editor, New Age, Sajjad Sharif, Managing Editor, Daily Prothom Alo, Dewan Hanif Mahmud, Editor, Daily Banik Barta and newsroom editors and photojournalists of other media were present in this event.

At the beginning of the discussion, Shahidul Alam said that Drik has been selected as a regional partner in Asia after many years of discussions with the World Press Photo Foundation at various stages with the aim of advancing photojournalism. In continuation of this, the World Press Photo Foundation and Drik are planning to take various initiatives to create opportunities for the expansion of photography and skill development in the region.

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The local photojournalists highlighted various challenges, obstacles and discrimination in the field of photojournalism during the discussion.

Joumana El Zein Khoury stated, “I want to talk about photojournalists who work at the risk of their lives, who strives to present the current news to the world through a perfect picture that can be understood at a glance. She further added, “In the current reality, the career and quality of life of photojournalists are becoming difficult every day. They are struggling not only in the security issue but also in the economic field. It is important to strengthen the media by making the photojournalist as important as a reporter in a newsroom.”

On behalf of the Editor’s Council, Mahfuz Anam said, “Not all newspapers are in the same situation but this matter needs to be addressed. News editors must understand photojournalism and photographers must also consider the obligations of the newsroom. It is important to keep this discussion going. I think now is the right time to change the way of thinking about this." To advance photojournalism, the president of the Editors' Council also mentioned that in the future, initiatives will be taken to discuss news editors and photographers at different levels.

Photo: Habibul Haque/Drik