A new generation of photojournalists nurtured in Myanmar

As Myanmar emerges from 50 years of military rule, the Yangon Photo Festival showcases a previously more suppressed journalistic profession to the outside world

“This is exhilarating. For the first time in 50 years it’s possible to produce and show politically related stories inside the country. These are sure signs that we are experiencing the first days of a new era towards democracy and press freedom”, said one of the festival participants who strives to become a photojournalist himself.

Launched four years ago by the French Institute in Myanmar and photographer Christophe Loviny with the support of International Media Support (IMS), the festival is an opportunity for local budding photojournalists to showcase their work.

Preparing new journalists for Myanmar’s burgeoning media

One photojournalist in the making, 25-year-old Seng Mai won an award for her work to draw public attention to renewed fighting between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army in northern Myanmar with the multimedia photo-film “Life Garden”.

Alongside Seng Mai almost a hundred photographers have attended workshops and professional training seminars throughout the past year to foster a new generation of photojournalists in a country until now ranked bottom in most press freedom rating indexes.

“As the first such program in Myanmar, the Yangon Photo Festival is nurturing a new generation of multimedia journalists ready to work for the burgeoning Myanmar newspapers, TV channels and news websites”, says Christophe Loviny, photographer and co-organiser of the festival.

“We train and develop photojournalists to document their society using the most up-to-date and sophisticated tools.”

Attended by over 1500 people, the fourth Yangon Photo Festival was hosted at the French Institute in Yangon and displayed the works of both international and local photojournalists.

For more information and photos from the festival, visit www.yangonphoto.com