World Press Photo: First Round Complete

Every year, the World Press Photo Foundation honours the most outstanding projects in the field of photojournalism and documentary photography, using a two-stage selection process. In the first round, six regional juries choose the respective winners for Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania, South America, North and Central America, Africa, and Europe. The second round concludes with the announcement of the global winners on 18 April 2024. 

Twenty-four regional winners have been chosen from a pool of 61,062 entries, submitted by 3,851 photographers from 130 countries. An additional six projects have received honourable mentions. 

The aim of the World Press Photo Contest is to recognise the contributions of  press and documentary photographers, who often work under unimaginable conditions to highlight the pressing issues and conflicts of our time. This year’s main focus points include the Hamas war, the threat of a global climate crisis, and the effects of migration, war and loss on the family construct. 

In the South American region, Adriana Loureiro Fernandez was chosen in the Stories category. Her reportage Red Skies, Green Waters, commissioned by The New York Times, examines the impact of the collapsing oil industry on the inhabitants of her home country: at the turn of the millennium, Venezuela had a thriving economy thanks to its abundant crude oil reserves. In recent years, however, falling oil prices, an outdated industrial infrastructure and extreme political instability have pushed the country into a downward spiral of poverty, corruption and organised crime. Today, Venezuela counts as one of the most dangerous and impoverished countries in the world. In her reportage project, Fernandez trains her lens on a country ravaged by immense economic, as well as ecological damage – while at the same time emphasising the resilience of its people. 

The photographer has previously received the LSI Women in Photography Grant for her long-term project Paradise Lost. Organised by Leica USA and the Leica Society International, the grant is designed to support women photographers from around the world in the completion of an impactful project.