Benjamin Neumann oversees communication, strategy and partnerships for the Agence Française de Développement. We interviewed him about the prize.
Now in its 4th year, has the Prix Photo AFD fulfilled all of its goals?
As jury chair Alain Mingam, without whom the Prix Photo AFD wouldn’t exist, says, a prize needs time to settle in. We’re currently in that phase. That said, we’re on the right path, as seen by the growing interest of professional photographers and the quality of the winning works since its creation in 2012. This allows us to meet the objectives that led to its creation: raising awareness about issues of development through the power of the image. The challenges are numerous and are everybody’s business in an interdependent world which needs to be more just and sustainable. Finally, the photographers, as witnesses to the major changes of world, are valuable messengers whose work should be widely seen and shared.
The prizes have helped photojournalists and the general public see the fundamental role played by the AFD and its photographs.
It’s true that the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is still too little known, even though it is a wonderful tool for French people, since it aims to reduce global tensions through its initiatives. The prize has helped it reach a wider audience. But the power of the prize resides in its jury, which should be loyal and of a high quality. And also to partnerships with Polka magazine, La Maison Européenne de la Photographie and Nikon. All of this helps showcase the work of AFD, a public establishment that helps implement French developmental policy. What better way than photography to show the projects being put in place, which are both wonderful human adventure and bridges built between countries.
Is the participation between the AFD and the Prix Bayeux Calvados des Correspondants de Guerre a sign of development? A weapon for peace to help make the Prix Photo AFD one of the most important prizes in the profession?
The development is indeed a weapon of peace, since it is based on principles of sharing, exchange, education and social progress. The barbaric act committed against Charlie Hebdo only strengthens the AFD and its agents in their determination to combat poverty and ignorance. And our presence at Bayeux, which began in 2014, couldn’t make more sense.
