World Press Photo Award-Winning photographs returns to the Canadian War Museum

Ottawa, Ontario, August 3, 2012 – The Canadian War Museum is proud to present the award-winning photographs from the prestigious World Press Photo contest. The Canadian War Museum is the first of four Canadian venues on the international tour.

World Press Photo 2012 includes images taken around the world in 2011 of subjects and events of journalistic importance. This year’s exhibition contains over 160 photographs, many from recent and ongoing conflicts. The travelling exhibition will be visited by more than 2 million people in 124 major cities around the world.

 “Through these exceptional photographs, visitors get a sense of the state of the world, and often leave with a better understanding of conflict and its role in shaping their lives,” stated James Whitham, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. “We are pleased to host this presentation for the fifth consecutive year.”

Established in the Netherlands in 1955, the World Press Photo Foundation is a non-profit organization which encourages high professional standards in photojournalism and promotes a free and unrestricted exchange of information. It is best known for organizing the world’s largest and most prestigious annual press photography competition. This year’s competition attracted over 5,000 photographers from 124 countries.

 The exhibition is developed and circulated by World Press Photo and is presented at the Canadian War Museum in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon.

 The winning photographs will be on display in the Museum’s Lobby from August 3 to 26, 2012.

 The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Its mission is to promote public understanding of Canada’s military history in its personal, national, and international dimensions.

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 A selection of the winning images is available online on the World Press Photo press download area (www.worldpressphoto.org/downloads) or on the FTP site of the Canadian War Museum. Please contact us for further details.

Information (media):

 For more information visit www.warmuseum.ca. Follow us on www.twitter.com/CanWarMuseum