The freedom to portray lives untold

Photojournalists make us look even when we would rather look away. From conflict to everyday life, their photos show us the upsetting, the sad, the beautiful, the hopeful.

This year on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, IMS celebrates the brave, upcoming generation of photo journalists in Myanmar. Through their captivating photos, they tell stories that remain highly sensitive even after 50 years of strict censorship have come to an end.

One such story is Behind the Frontline, by Hkun Li, which tells the story of northern Myanmar’s Kachin State conflict where thousands have died and over 100,000 people have been displaced, since violence erupted in June 2011. The photo series won the 3rd prize in this year’s Yangon Photo Festival.

[vimeo width=”715″ height=”477″]http://vimeo.com/87561469[/vimeo]Behind the Frontline by Hkun Li. Photo series from Myanmar’s Kachin State conflict.

In Myanmar, photojournalism has become a new avenue for journalistic expression. Since 2009, IMS has trained more than 170 aspiring Myanmar photographers, enabling them to produce high-quality, award-winning photos and photo stories like Hkun Li’s above.

Several of these photojournalists now work for international news and photo agencies allowing the world to catch a glimpse of the distress, the progress, the hope, and the dreams of a population which finds itself amidst rapid political change, but also conflict and poverty.

In Myanmar and Afghanistan, photojournalism has been a part of IMS’ skills training of budding reporters and photographers, used as a tool of expression that empowers the individual and documents sides to life that are seldom highlighted.


More photojournalism from Myanmar

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