Carmignac Photojournalism Award

Ghana is at the centre of the most recent Prix Carmignac, with a focus on the ecological and human challenges associated with the transboundary flow of e-waste – an umbrella term commonly used for discarded battery and mains-powered products. The 13th edition of the prestigious award was granted to a team made up of investigative anti-corruption journalist and activist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, and photojournalists Muntaka Chasant and Bénédicte Kurzen (NOOR). From February 2023 to February 2024, the laureates carried out a transnational field study between Ghana and Europe, funded and supported by the Fondation Carmignac.

According to the United Nation’s Global E-Waste Monitor Report, 62 millions tons of electrical and electronic waste were generated worldwide in 2022 – of which only 22.3% were recycled via the appropriate channels. The number of smartphones, connected watches, flatscreens, computers and tablets being thrown away continues to rise, with an increase of 82% since 2010. Electric and electronic devices are not only among the biggest sources of waste, but also the most valuable, as they contain precious metals such as gold, silver and platinoids. If the current trend continues and no sustainable recycling and repair solutions are put in place, global electronic waste is predicted to reach 82 million tons by 2030.

Having long been shipped to countries like Russia, India and China, e-waste from Europe and the United States is now also arriving in the ports of West African countries – including Ghana. This is a violation of international treaties, and forces the expansion of informal open-air landfill sites even closer to residential areas.

It was against this backdrop that Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Muntaka Chasant and Bénédicte Kurzen conducted their investigation into the effects of e-waste trafficking between Europe and Ghana. Using photography, video, audio recordings and writing, the team documented an ambiguous and complex ecosystem which, on the one hand, represents a crucial income opportunity for thousands of people in Ghana, but comes at an enormous human and environmental cost. 

The project can be viewed at the Port de Solférino in Paris from 16 May to 16 June 2024, and at the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation in Arles from 1 July to 29 September 2024.