The power of photography. The images from the World Press Photo 2024 contest

Foto. Mohammed Salem (Reuters)
Foto. Mohammed Salem (Reuters)
Foto. Mohammed Salem (Reuters)
Foto. Mohammed Salem (Reuters)
They always say that a picture is worth a thousand words. They transmit emotions in a very personal way and are visual testimonies of what happens in the world.
On April 18, the awarded photographs of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest were announced. Stories about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, social awareness, and migration have been the focus of this edition. Among more than 61,000 photographs, the organization has selected 4 global winners in the categories of "Photograph of the Year", "Graphic Report of the Year", "Long-Term Project", and "Open Format". Here are the winning images.

WORLD PRESS AWARD FOR PHOTOGRAPH OF THE YEAR

A Palestinian woman embraces the lifeless body of her niece, by Mohammed Salem, Palestine (Reuters).
Inas Abu Maamar (36) embraces the lifeless body of her niece Saly (5), who was killed, along with four other members of her family, when an Israeli missile struck their home in Khan Younis (Gaza).

Photo taken by Mohammed Salem (Reuters)
 

WORLD PRESS AWARD FOR GRAPHIC REPORT

'Valim-babena', by Lee-Ann Olwage, South Africa (GEO)
The protagonist of this report is Dada Paul (91). In this first image, we see him with his five-year-old granddaughter Odliatemix, preparing in their home in Madagascar to go to church on a Sunday morning. Dada Paul has suffered frin denentia for 11 years, and it's his daughter Fara (41) who takes care of him. For nine years, Dada Paul's children thought their father was crazy, but Fara realized something was wrong when one day Paul didn't remembered how to get home.
This report is a long-term project where Olwage wanted to adress denentia in Madagascar. In the country, there is a great lack of public awareness, which leads to a great stigmatization of people suffering from these diseases. In fact, many citizens confuse witchcrafts with some of the symptoms of dementia.
Photos taken by Lee-Ann Olwage (GEO) 


WORLD PRESS AWARD FOR LONG-TERM PROJECT

'The two walls', by Alejandro Cegarra, Mexico (NYTimes/ Bloomberg)
A migrant walks on a freight train as he arrives in Piedras Negras. This project by Venezuelan Alejandro Cegarra deals with Mexico's immigration policies, which have been heavily criticized in recent years for being considered very strict.This project is a work for The New York Times/ Bloomberg and was born in 2018. The photographer has relied on his own experience as a migrant from his native Venezuela to Mexico in 2017.
The Coto family aboard 'La Bestia' in Samalayuca (México)
Photos taken by Alejandro Cegarra (The New York Times/ Bloomberg)

WORLD PRESS AWARD FOR OPEN FORMAT

'The war is personal', by Julia Kochetova, Ucrania 
The 'Open Format' award went to Ukrainian photographer Julia Kochetova. The report is a personal diary where she explains how she lives through the war in Ukraine as her daily reality. This work blends documentary photojournalism with illustration and music to narrate the daily lives of Ukrainians and the internal view of the conflict.
Photos by Julia Kochetova (The New York Times/ Bloomberg)

From November 8 to December 15, 2024, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) will host, once again, the exhibition where all the contest images can be seen. A journey that invites reflection on the world.