UNICEF Germany: Photo of the Year 2022

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. Here are the winners 2022. (Text: Peter-Matthias Gaede, UNICEF).

Click here for a direct link to the  UNICEF Germany site (in English), with all pictures

1st Prize: Eduardo Soteras, Argentina
Tigray, Ethiopia: Taking Refuge in Books

Although destroyed, the library in this elementary school in Ethiopia’s Tigray region is where two children have taken refuge in books. This little moment of happiness shows in their smiles. It is a rare moment. Because of the armed conflict with the central government, 5.2 million people in this region in northern Ethiopia are suffering from violence, displacement, malnutrition and a shortage of drinking water.

Argentinian photographer Eduardo Soteras has been documenting the situation of children in Tigray since 2020: in refugee camps, in hospitals, in reception centres for girls who have been sexually abused. For example, when they are collecting firewood and looking for water. And he captures rare moments like the one that shows what the children of Tigray share with children all over the world: the need to be allowed to engage peacefully and curiously in something that brings them joy.

Other photos of the same series by Eduardo Soteras:

For more photos by Eduardo Soteras and an interview with the photographer, click here.

2nd Prize: Ron Haviv, USA
Ukraine: I Once Had a Home

‘I once had a home’ is the title of a photo series by US photographer Ron Haviv, taken in Ukraine, a country that has been forced into a grueling defensive war. His pictures show people who have to flee and bid their homes and friends farewell, but also abandoned prams, destroyed bridges and shelled residential buildings. And they show basements and metro stations where children are born. Where they play. And where they learn.

A teacher is reading stories to a group of girls and boys in a metro station in the capital Kyiv. Perhaps it is an exciting fairy tale reflected in the eyes of the children. But it could also be all the emotions triggered by the children’s experiences: fear, horror, and disbelief.

Millions of Ukrainian women and their children have been displaced within their own country. As of November 2022, nearly 1,000 schools have been damaged, nearly 130 completely destroyed. At least 400 children have lost their lives to artillery fire, 800 have received serious physical injuries. The Right to Life (Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child); the Right to Rest and Leisure (Art. 31); the Right to Education (Art. 28): since the start of the war in February 2022, each time the alarm goes off, it is only underground that these rights can sort of be guaranteed for the girls and boys in Ukraine.

Other photos of the same series by Ron Haviv

For more photos by Ron Haviv and information about the photographer, click here.

3rd Prize: Daniel Pilar, Deutschland
Afghanistan: The Secret School for Girls

Since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, girls have again been banned from attending secondary schools. This is part of a policy to deprive women and girls of basic rights. As a result, more than one million girls are being denied the chance of an education, while the risk of exploitation, abuse, and early marriage increases. And this is happening despite the fact that children in Afghanistan are already threatened by hunger, poverty and disease, and a total of 13 million boys and girls are in need of humanitarian aid.

But solidarity with the girls still exists, even if it has to remain hidden. For example, in the secret school that photographer Daniel Pilar has portrayed in his photo series. He discovered it in a makeshift building on the outskirts of Kabul, hidden in a backyard. Here, a young and courageous teacher also teaches 7th and 8th grade girls. Their hunger for education is stronger than any ban. Just like the brave teacher, however, parents who send their daughters to such schools must ensure that they remain anonymous.

For more photos by Daniel Pilar and information about the photographer, click here.