Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - This year's World Press Photo Exhibition has openedon the walking street by Hoan Kiem Lake in the centre of Hanoi,giving residents the change to see award-winning pieces of visualjournalism.

The exhibition Best of Three 2018 – 2020 organised bythe Netherlands Embassy displays a collection of 62 works taken in the pastthree years across the world.

Photos displayed at the eventare regarded as the most important stories of immersive and inspiringtopics such as migration, protests and the environment.

The environment ismost prominent in the 2020 exhibition. It is represented incategories beyond the Environment Category - Contemporary Issues, Nature, andSpot News and aims to call attention to the importance of the subject.

Meanwhile, protests and therole of youths in activating change were highlighted by the jury as a recurringtheme in the entries, the organiser said.

Each year, the prize-winningpictures are presented in an exhibition visiting some 100 cities in about 45countries over the course of the year and visited by more than 4 million peopleworldwide.

This year, the World PressPhoto exhibition in Hanoi is one of the very few exhibitions outside Europe and thethird exhibition of its kind in Hanoi.

A ceremony was held on Fridaynight at the Martyr Monument Square on Hang Dau Street to mark the opening of the exhibition and drewrepresentatives from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, cityauthorities, foreign embassies and international organisations in Vietnam.

“It is a well-known saying thanan image says more than 1,000 words. The pictures in this exhibition are primeexamples of telling their story across cultural and language barriers”,said Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Vietnam, ElsbethAkkerman.

 Speaking at the openingceremony on November 20, the ambassador stressed the meaningful concept of eachpicture.

"Each picture exhibitedhere tells a story/stories of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances,stories about how we as people relate to the planet we live on. Stories ofsadness, struggle and grief, but recognised, and we can relate to on apersonal level," she said.

"The pictures are acelebration and acknowledgement of the importance of photography, photojournalismand diversity allowing people to tell the story they need to tells thus enableus to hear the things we need to hear," she said.

"Photography is anespecially effective way of communication because it eliminates the boundariesof culture and language. Photojournalism in general and the wonderful examplesof the pictures we show today offer us a window to the world that we cannot seeourselves at this point in time," she added.

The event taking place fromNovember 20-29 is one of the meaningful activities that enrich the agenda of Hanoibeing in UNESCO’s Global Network of Creative Cities.

The values of the WorldPress Photo

The World Press Photo Contestis the world’s leading contest for professional press photographers,photojournalists and documentary photographers. Since 1955, the World PressPhoto Contest has recognised professional photographers for the best pictures -presented as singles or stories contributing to the past year ofvisual journalism.

In the last three years,the World Press Photo Foundation received around 75,000 images each year fromat least 125 countries.

The mission of World PressPhoto is to connect the world to the stories that matter and at the same time,embraces accuracy, transparency and diversity. 

"In this exhibition, wealso see stories that reflect what we consider to be 'constructivejournalism' - work that puts problem-solving at the centre of thenarrative. Take for instance the story about a football team from Benin,Africa, that’s set up with the aim of giving young women more control overtheir futures through sport," said Suzan van den Berg, ExhibitionsCoordinator for World Press Photo.

Tour and educational sideevents

A sideline programme will beheld during the nine days of the exhibition including the workshop 'Storytelling Through Portraits', an online panel discussion 'Utilising Online Platforms for Photojournalism', a portfolio review, projection night and an artisttalk show next weekend.

Free guided tours will also beorganised at 10am and 2pm for those interested in learning more about thestories behind the pictures, according to the organiser.

For more information on theside events, visit matca.vn/en/trien-lam-anh-bao-chi-the-gioi-2020/./.