Bridgetown, Barbados – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Barbados have issued an open call for photographs which depict a strong visual narrative on how trade works for development, in the lead-up to the UN trade body’s quadrennial conference (UNCTAD 15).
UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant said, “The conference theme, ‘From inequality and vulnerability to prosperity for all’, calls on us to fix fractures across the world to ensure prosperity for all. Trade is one of the levers in this journey and can help foster development and bring more prosperity”. “Help us show and tell this powerful story through strong visuals,” she urged.
The photo exhibition will be curated by Lekgetho Makola, the chief executive of the Javett Art Centre at University of Pretoria in South Africa and a globally recognized curator.
Renowned Barbadian photographer, Ronnie Carrington, is on the selection committee. His professional career spans some 40 years as a photographer and producer/director in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. He has documented many aspects of Barbados/the Caribbean on film and video, and has been photographic exhibitor and judge nationally and internationally. Mr. Carrington is known for his stunning, thought-provoking black and white images and knack of being able to creatively capture the light, the perspective, and the human interest which transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
In addition to Mr. Carrington, the selection committee is made up of the curator and: Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director, World Press Photo Foundation; Andrew Revkin, journalist and director of the Initiative on Communication and Sustainability at The Earth Institute at Columbia University; and Dona Bertarelli, UNCTAD special adviser for the blue economy. It also includes Pamela Stathakis, Fair Picture’s responsible network manager. Fair Picture is building a network of global South photographers. And also two UNCTAD staff, Jan Hoffman, UNCTAD’s head of trade logistics and Henrique Pacini, UNCTAD economist, both avid photographers.
More detailed information about the photo call is available at: UNCTAD launches open call for photos to shape trade, development narrative | UNCTAD15 .
The UNCTAD 15 conference will be hosted by Barbados 3-7 October 2021. END