Promoting Humanity and Peace Through the Art of Photography

This past Tuesday, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Public Information, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, paid a visit to the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Mr Launsky-Tieffenthal was greeted at the HIPA offices by the Assistant Secretary General, Ms Sahar Al Zarei as well as Mr Saeed Al Nabouda, Vice Chairman of the HIPA Board of Trustees.

UN Under-Secretary Visit to HIPA / (L-R) Mr Saeed Al Nabouda, Ms Sahar Al Zarei, Mr Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal / Courtesy of HIPA

Mr Launsky-Tieffenthal was shown an introductory presentation on HIPA with all major milestones over the past 3 seasons of competition which included reaching photographers from 165 countries and participating in various international events and exhibitions. Upon the conclusion of his visit, Mr Launsky-Tieffenthal was presented with a limited edition of HIPA’s third annual book titled 'Creating the Future'.

Commenting on his impressions of HIPA, Mr Launsky-Tieffenthal said, "I commend HIPA on their efforts in promoting humanity and peace through the art of photography. The FACES initiative involving Syrian Children in the Emirati-Jordanian refugee camp was very touching and reflective of HIPA’s overriding message of 'developing man', in this case it was the development of skills for the children at the camp."

Mr Launsky-Tieffenthal concluded by saying "We look forward to having more HIPA initiatives involving humanitarian aspects and possibly including the United Nations in the near future."