Osodi is a member of World Press Photo 2016 juries

The organisers of 2016 edition of World Press Photo Contest have announced Francis Kohn, a photo director at Agence France-Presse and 18 professionals, including Nigerian photographer, George Osodi among several juries. Making up the special and general juries, the 11 men and eight women come from 16 countries.

According to a press statement from World Press Photo Foundation, Osodi is in listed among the jury for the 'People'  category. The "Specialist Juries" for people is chaired by Narda van't Veer, the Netherlands, founder UNIT C.M.A, The Ravestijn Gallery.

 

George Oosdi

The new code of ethics, revised entry rules, and categories for the contest will be announced on 25 November, and the contest will open for entries on 2 December.

When asked about his role as general jury chair and the task ahead, Kohn said: “I obviously gave it a lot of thought before accepting the responsibility of chairing the jury. I think my experience in journalism, and specifically in a press agency where you have to be quick and decisive, will be of value. I welcome debate and like teamwork.

We will be applying strict ethical rules, but they do not mean the jury has to play it safe. We have to be totally open, to allow ourselves to be surprised and discover another amazing year in photojournalism with fresh eyes. The biggest challenge for me is to remain focused and let the photos come to me, appealing to my mind and emotions in a historical context without thinking about how my choices might be perceived. The fact that we are going to look at huge numbers of photos makes it even more difficult. Making the decision is a balance between questioning yourself, a situation, an image and at the end, without agonizing, trusting your judgment.”

Lars Boering, managing director of the World Press Photo Foundation, said:

“Appointing a highly qualified and experienced chair and jury to judge the annual photo contest is one of our most important tasks. Francis Kohn is one of photojournalism’s most esteemed professionals, and under his skilled guidance I am confident this year’s judges will reward the very best work entered. We approached the best practitioners in the field, and worked hard to get as diverse a group as possible. We are always striving to do better, but this is an excellent jury and a fair representation of the professional photo world. Once appointed the jury operates independently of the foundation, and we cannot wait to see the outcome of their deliberations in February.”

Judging the 2016 World Press Photo Contest is an intensive two-week process. Details of the procedures and voting system, along with the revised rules and categories, will be made public on 25 November.

The judging takes places between 1-12 February 2016. The winners will be announced on Thursday, 18 February 2016.

In the first week of judging, the work is done by five specialist juries:

News
Chair: Francis Kohn, France, photo director Agence France-Presse
Eliana Aponte, Colombia, photographer
Thomas Borberg, Denmark, photo editor-in-chief Politiken
David Furst, USA, international photo editor The New York Times
Huang Wen, China, director of new media development Xinhua News Agency

Documentary
Chair: Michaela Herold, Austria, director of photography Der Spiegel
Simon Norfolk, UK, photographer
Prashant Panjiar, India, photographer
Vaughn Wallace, USA, deputy photo editor Al Jazeera America
Sim Chi Yin, Singapore, photographer

Sports
Chair: Tim Clayton, Australia, photographer
Marguerite Schropp, USA, picture editor Sports Illustrated
Tim De Waele, Belgium, photographer

Nature
Chair: George Steinmetz, USA, photographer
Rosamund Kidman Cox, UK, editor
Thomas P. Peschak, Germany/South Africa, photographer

People
Chair: Narda van ’t Veer, the Netherlands, founder UNIT C.M.A, The Ravestijn Gallery
George Osodi, Nigeria, photographer
Anastasia Taylor-Lind, UK/Sweden, artist and journalist

In the second week, Kohn will be joined by the chairs of the specialist juries, plus one additional member from each of the News and Documentary juries, to make up the general jury:

General Jury
Chair: Francis Kohn, France, photo director Agence France-Presse
Tim Clayton, Australia, photographer
Michaela Herold, Austria, director of photography Der Spiegel
George Steinmetz, USA, photographer
Narda van ‘t Veer, the Netherlands, founder UNIT C.M.A, The Ravenstijn Gallery
Vaughn Wallace, USA, deputy photo editor Al Jazeera America
Huang Wen, China, director of new media development Xinhua News Agency