American photographer, invited by ACNUR, for an award in the Dominican Republic

American photographer, invited by ACNUR, for an award in the Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, February 24, 2012

Photographer Spencer Platt will be a judge at the 10th International Wilfredo García FoUNtografía Award, organized by Casa de Teatro, which has extended its closing date to Friday, February 24.

For Platt, “images surpass cultures and can be understood by people from different countries and socio-economic environments”.  He will participate as part ofthe jury at the Casa Teatro’s photography award.  This year there will be a special award as part of the ¡ConVivir con To’!… es Vivir con Tolerencia (Living Together!… is Living with Tolerance) campaign, …

Spencer Platt works for the Getty Images agency, and currently covers stories in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.  His work has appeared in publications such as Time, Newsweek, Stern, Paris Match, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. He has won numerous prizes for his work around the world.  In 2006, Platt received the coveted World Press Photo in the category “Photo of the Year” with an image ofthe damages in Beirut caused by the war in Lebanon.  The image reflects the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, and depicts Lebanese youth driving through the city’s ruins in a red convertible.

Recently, Platt and his lens joined Doctors Without Borders, to focus on humanitarian crises forgotten by the rest of the world.  With that organization, he has followed displaced Congolese, Kurds in Turkey, and villages razed by war in the Central African Republic.  His coverage of Somali refugees in Kenya is well-known.

For Platt, “images surpass cultures and can be understood by people from different countries and socio-economic environments”.  He will participate as part ofthe jury at the Casa Teatro’s photography award.  This year there will be a special award as part of the ¡ConVivir con To’!… es Vivir con Tolerencia (Living Together!… is Living with Tolerance) campaign, developed by ACNUR with funding from the European Union and support from the Ministry of Culture.  Platt is also expected to participate in a discussion with the photographers who have entered their work in the competition.

The winner of the special Convivencia y Tolerencia award will receive 50,000 pesos.  Photographs entered must depict respect for ideas, beliefs, or practices of others, even those differing from one’s own values; different lifestyles which allow people to coexist in conditions of equality; the idea of living in a community, one’s immediate surroundings, the neighborhood, or the community.  The subjects of the photographs must always display human dignity prevailingunder a positive light.  Subjects may be adults or children (and their integrity must always be protected), engaged in either work or leisure activities.

It is important for the photographs to maintain a gender perspective and express the goals of the ¡ConVivir con To’!… campaign in all areas of diversity.  The photographs must have been taken since January 2010, only in either Haiti or the Dominican Republic

Information on the Convivencia y Tolerancia award may be found at www.facebook.com/convivrconto and general information on the Photography Competition may be found at www.casadeteatro.com or by writing to info@casadeteatro.com.