Mahmud Hams wins second place in the “Single News” category

Young relatives of Alaa Hamdan attend his funeral in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza strip on October 4, 2019. At 28 years old, Alaa Hamdan was killed by Israeli fire during clashses along the Gaza border.

The photographs were taken between June and December 2019, while Hong Kong was being convulsed by huge and often violent rallies. Initially protesting a draft extradition bill, the rallies soon morphed into a popular call for democracy and police accountability.

His portfolio that earned him this award will feature in an exhibition entitled “Opposing Views” at the 2020 Visa pour l’Image festival.

Leila Macor, AFP correspondent in Miami, just won the Journalist of the Year award for Spanish media, as part of the contest of the Sunshine State Awards. An event rewarding Florida’s best reporters of all categories.

« A wonderful award for a great reporter, in a very competitive environment » rejoices Brigitte Dusseau, AFP Regional Director North America.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not broken the spirit of the world's major photojournalism festival, and it was all the more crucial to maintain the edition in these difficult times "when many photojournalists have been struggling, with close to no orders for months", Jean-François Leroy, director of Visa, said at a press video conference.

Agence France-Presse will be present this year through 3 exhibitions among the 20 on display:

For several months in 2019, AFP's multi-disciplinary team (text, photo, video and data graphics) set out to meet one of the world's last great nomadic peoples, in Nigeria, Mali and Niger.

They aimed to tell the story of these freedom-loving men and women as they face some of the 21st century's direst challenges.

The Fulani are at the heart of most major news stories in the Sahel region of Africa: population explosion, urbanization, global warming and radicalization.

The book has already been translated into 17 languages. Rachel was joined in the discussion by Ramon Tuazon, Media Development Specialist of UNESCO Myanmar, and host U Kyaw Min Swe, Executive Director of Myanmar Journalism Institute & Chief Editor of the Voice Weekly.

Eddie passed away on April 25 at the age of 84, and his funeral was held the following day with close family in attendance.

"AFP stands in solidarity with all the media whose offices were destroyed in Gaza," said AFP Chairman Fabrice Fries. "All parties involved in the conflict need to respect the media's freedom to report on events."

"We are profoundly shocked the offices of media organisations would be targeted in this way," said AFP's Global News Director Phil Chetwynd.