Tag : Finalist

A former war photographer, Karim Ben Khelifa has now focused his camera on dissecting one of the world's most inflammatory conflicts, between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This collection is a unique analysis of the conflict. Karim believes that by letting the fighters involved speak for...

Although 15 years have passed since the end of the Bosnian War, ethnic tensions remain. This dance troupe is made up of girls who either have Bosnian backgrounds, with a Muslim heritage, or are Catholic Croats. They all come from disadvantaged families whose past has been torn apart by war. Even...

The 2008 South Ossetia War brought into focus the little-understood conflict involving the secessionist movement of the Abkhaz minority, backed by the Russian Federation, Ossetia and Abkhazia, against Georgia. During the conflict, all parties committed serious human right violations. During the...

Living as a child in Swaziland means there is a 43% chance of living with the HIV virus after you turn 15. Super Buddies Club is a nationwide, youth network that uses the arts to educate its peers about HIV/AIDS. It is also responsible for Africa's first youth-produced radio drama. Fifteen members...

Fuyang Anhui province in China is notorious for a blood donation scandal during the 1990s when peasant workers were infected by the HIV virus after unclean needles were used by corrupt officials. 'We Are All The Same' was created by five children, all of whom are infected or are AIDS orphans. These...

In 2008, filmmaker and journalist Maziar Bahari was seized by Iranian authorities after he published an article in Newsweek dissecting the Green Revolution movement. He was one of a thousand people seized during the post-election crackdown. The Harvard Film Archive said his work revealed the human...

Well known in his native country for his romantic poems and performance art pieces, Saw Wei was jailed for two years in November 2008 for inducing crime against public tranquillity. His detention stemmed from an eight-line love poem entitled 'February The Fourteenth'. It carries a hidden criticism...

Iraqi youths in a Jordanian refugee camp painted a mural to reconnect with their rich, cultural heritage and to express their desire for a peaceful future. The simmering tensions between Shiites and Sunnis in the confines of the camps regularly erupt into violence. Almost all refugee children in...

Youths in the Jenin Refugee Camp in the north of the West Bank, use photography to capture the harsh reality of their daily lives. From behind the lens, these young people document how conservative elements within their society suppress the rights of the children. Their photography also documents...

This Syrian doctor, painter and human right activist is currently serving a 15 year prison sentence. He was jailed after his paintings were deemed to "have incited foreign aggression against Syria that insulted The Syrian President". Prior to his arrest, Dr. al-Labwani was a general practitioner....

This Burmese musician has used his talents to promote human rights. Ko Win Maw has been jailed three times for his song writing. He is serving a six year sentence. In 1996, he was jailed on charges of singing anti-regime songs. In 1997, he received seven years hard labour and his music was banned.

Ugandan sculptor Peter Oloya uses sculpture as a form of therapy to overcome a profound, personal trauma. When he was a child, he witnessed the deaths of friends and family who were victims of the bloody insurgency waged by the Lords Resistance Army. Peter's work draws on traditional African visual...

Ferhat Tunc has faced harsh opposition from Turkish authorities, the media and ultranationalists for singing in his native Kurdish language. In Turkey, the Kurdish culture is repressed and extensively monitored. Rules curtail Kurdish performances. Judicial obstructions occur at every concert and...

This Israeli group is made up of Arab and Jewish youths. In Israel, the two communities seldom interact. When they do, individuals are often seen as traitors and subjected to harassment. These performers showcase their message of cooperation in spite of verbal and physical threats.

The Mobile Mini Circus for Children delivers important messages about education, women's rights, land mines and health through their public performances which have captured the imagination of a nation. Their aim is to move victims of war beyond survival mode and rebuild the creative potential of...

Rachelle is the first female dance choreographer in Benin, one of the smallest and most densely populated regions in Africa. She formed ‘Compagnie Walo’ which uses a mix of contemporary and traditional dance to focus on social issues that impact communities in Benin. She wants to create a knowledge...

Growing up in North Korea, based on his artistic skills, Song Byeok was selected at the age of 24 to become an official state propagandist. Song had absolute faith that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il truly loved his people. His faith in the Dear Leader was only shaken when famine struck...

Tarik Samarah is a Bosnian photographer who works in artistic and documentary photography. His ‘Srebrenica’ billboard campaign exhibited images of the Srebrenica massacre on large commercial billboards as a way of raising awareness about events that took place during the Srebrenica Genocide.

Thet Sambath spent 10 years gaining the trust of former Khmer Rouge perpetrators and persuaded them to confess their crimes on film in order to understand this most mysterious of genocidal events – both for himself as a victim of the Killing Fields, his fellow Cambodians and the word as a whole....

Dhondup Wangchen understood the power of documentary film making to convey a message of hope. Without any formal training and purely motivated by the desire to document the need for social change, he travelled across Tibet with only one assistant, using a hand held camera to make the first...

Ericson Acosta is a poet, singer, actor and songwriter from the Philippines, was arrested in February 2011, without warrant by the military whilst conducting human rights and environmental research in a militarised barrio in Calbayog in the Philippines. Following days of tactical military...