World Press Photo is run as an independent, non-profit organization with its office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Founded in 1955 the organization is known for holding the largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest in the world to select the best photo basing two criteria including the skill of correspondent and the updated information of the photo.
Here are the winning press photos from 1955 to the present. The context of these photos largely comes from the devastating wars which have been happening in the world. Photos related to Vietnam have been voted on in WPP six times: 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1972. Is it the reason why until now many people have still seen Vietnam as a country of wars?
World Press Photo of the Year: 2008
Anthony Suau, USA, for Time
Detective Robert Kole of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office enters a home in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 26, following mortgage foreclosure and eviction. He needs to check that the owners have vacated the premises, and that no weapons have been left lying around. Officers go in at gunpoint as a precaution, as many houses have been vandalized or occupied by squatters or drug addicts.
World Press Photo of the Year: 2005
Mother and child at emergency feeding center, Tahoua, Niger, 1 August, 2005
World Press Photo of the Year:1996
Kuito, Angola, 1996. Landmine victims in Kuito, a town where many people were killed and traumatized during the civil war.
World Press Photo of the Year:1988
Leninakan, USSR, December 1988. Boris Abgarzian grieves for his 17-year-old son, victim of the Armenian earthquake.
World Press Photo of the Year:1985
Armero, Colombia, 16 November 1985. Twelve-year-old Omayra Sanchez trapped in the debris caused by the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano. After sixty hours she eventually lost consciousness and died.
World Press Photo of the Year: 1984
Bhopal, India, December 1984. Child killed by the poisonous gas leak in the Union Carbide chemical plant disaster.
World Press Photo of the Year: 1983
Koyunoren, Eastern Turkey, 30 October 1983. Kezban Özer finds her five children buried alive after a devastating earthquake.
World Press Photo of the Year: 1980
Karamoja district, Uganda, April 1980. Starving boy and a missionary.
World Press Photo of the Year: 1975
Boston, USA, 22 July 1975. A woman and a girl are hurled down as the fire escape of their apartment building collapses
World Press Photo of the Year: 1974
Kao, Niger, July 1974. Drought victim.
World Press Photo of the Year:1972
Trangbang, South Vietnam, 8 June 1972. Phan Thi Kim Phuc (center) flees from the scene where South Vietnamese planes have mistakenly dropped napalm.
World Press Photo of the Year: 1965
Loc Thuong, Binh Dinh, South Vietnam, September 1965. Mother and children wade across river to escape US bombing.
You can see more photos in the following videos:
