TEHRAN-The winners of the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award were announced on December 21, and the Iranian photographer Atefeh Sadat Safavi-Vanani received an honorable mention.

The photo series “Atun” by Safavi Vanani is among the seven honorable mentions awarded by UNICEF Germany, the organizer of the photo contest, IRNA reported on Friday.

In the series, Safavi-Vanani has depicted life in the village of Kelab in Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad Province, where something special takes place.

There, in the mountainous southwest of Iran, lives a girl who wants to change the world with books. As the eldest of six brothers and sisters, Tayyiba Atun gathers the other children in the village around her for a few hours every day, if possible, to read to them. She wants the children’s thoughts to fly beyond the boundaries of their village. Fantasy should prevail over the narrow horizons of their situation. They should talk to each other, make plans together, get an idea of the wide world beyond the mountains, and understand life better by listening to all kinds of different stories.

Safavi-Vanani joined Kelab’s young reading activist and her audience for a while. She was present at Tayyiba’s gatherings under trees and among herds of goats – with only a few children or with large groups of them. Safavi-Vanani affectionately describes the girl as a ‘seeker’. It is the story of a private call to action, the results of which will become apparent in a few years’ time. And when that time comes, the results will be clearly visible.

Safavi-Vanani, 31, holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Faculty of Economics, University of Tehran. She has worked as a photographer and filmmaker in the past years. She has participated in many Iranian photo and film festivals with her projects and also teaches photography at schools and other institutions.

Each year, UNICEF Germany has awarded the “UNICEF Photo of the Year Award” to photos and photo series that best depict the personality and living conditions of children worldwide in an outstanding manner. The internationally renowned contest is aimed at professional photographers from all over the world.

“High-quality documentary photography can open people’s eyes. Each year, the winning photos from the UNICEF photo contest do exactly that: they open our eyes to the predicaments of children all around the world,” says Georg Graf Waldersee, Chairman of UNICEF Germany. “They show children’s fates, honestly and sincerely, sometimes full of pain and sometimes full of hope. They are a powerful appeal for empathy and compassion, reminding us of our shared mission: to work for the well-being of children worldwide.”

Photojournalists from over 95 nations and all continents have received awards since 2000. In individual photos or photo series, they document the living conditions of children and young people who have to live in the most challenging conditions: in war, in material or emotional hardship, or in the wake of natural disasters. However, they also show moments of happiness, joy, and different facets of the everyday lives of children from all over the world. 

SS/SAB