The victims of our wealth - DR Congo

• Prize
  Silver in Editorial/Photo Essay
• Photographer
  Stefano Stranges
• Socials
• Website
  http://strangesimage.com

The Masisi territory is one of the richest and exploited of Congo, due to the abundance of minerals, but people live without hope. They are forced to work in the mines to survive and the problems of schooling and the lack of other job opportunities make them slaves. Moreover the area is doomed by long term bloody conflicts due to its land’s richness. Goma, confining with Rwanda, is one of the main bases for the Coltan trade, which is now a highly requested mineral because of the great increase of the technology market. Coltan, in other words, the mineral that everyone carries around in his or her pocket, is the object of a long commercial chain that implicates serious conseguences in term of human and enviromental rights.This mineral which is used in the production of various high tech materials, is especially fundamental in making smartphones.

• Biography
  Italian independent photographer and photojournalist. Born in 1978, I began my professional career in 2006. In 2011 I turned my attention to the problematic social issues on the planet, so I started to collaborate with national and international NGOs. My shots capture the harsh realities that oppress contemporary society, from exploitation to civil war, passing through the disasters caused by natural calamity and climate change. I published my reports in many magazines, including Rolling Stone, Millenium, Jesus Mag, La stampa. My works have been exhibited in several exhibitions in Europe.
• Awards
  -2020: Px3 Paris Photo Award - State of the world 2020 Curatorial Selection Winner, with the reportage "The end of the exodus - Inferno Moria". -2020: "In Limbo", from the editorial project "Quell'anno in cui...". Selected for Fondazione per l'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT -2019: IPA (International Photography Awards) Honorable Mention category Professional Editorial/Press, Environmental with "Drought in the rain season - A climate change issue" documentary photography for Terre Des Hommes Italia -2018: TIFA 2017 (Tokyo International Foto Award) Silver prize in Editorial-Photo Essay Professional - "The victims of our wealth" DrCongo -2018: Winner of the contest for the "Festival dei diritti Umani 2017" -2017: IPOTY (International Photographer of the year) - Honorable Mention in Essay Photography/professional with the project "The victims of our wealth" -2017: International Photography Grant 2016 - NOMINEE with "The two faces of rebellion - The Ukraine crisis 2014" (category Story) -2017 TRECCANI AWARD - Premio TRECCANI web - Eccellenza del mese "The victims of our wealth" http://premiotreccani.it/the-victims-of-our-wealth.html -2016: SiFest Premio Pesaresi - Finalist project "The victims of our wealth" Dr Congo -2016: Golden Orchid international photo contest "The plastic village - Bangladesh" third Prize – series -2015: The series "The two faces of rebellion-The Ukraine crisis 2014" has been shortlisted for the Athens Photo festival 2015.