Participants selected for the Joop Swart Masterclass

Twelve young photographers will come together with a group of masters for the 15th annual World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. The masterclass will be held from 8 to 13 November 2008 in Foam_Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam. The 12 participants were selected among 132 candidates who had been nominated to submit their portfolios. During the masterclass meeting in November, the participant photographers will interact with six prominent experts to discuss technical, journalistic and ethical aspects of their work. The following 12 photographers were selected to participate in the 2008 masterclass: •    Peter van Agtmael, The Netherlands/USA •    Martina Bacigalupo, Italy •    Massimo Berruti, Italy •    Andrew Biraj, Bangladesh •    Michael Christopher Brown, USA •    Agnes Dherbeys, France •    Iñaki Domingo, Spain •    Philipp Ebeling, Germany •    Clemence de Limburg, Belgium •    David Magnusson, Sweden •    Jehad Nga, Libya/USA •    James Pomerantz, United Kingdom/USA The participants were selected by an independent, international selection committee consisting of José Azel (Cuba), president Aurora Photos, Magdalena Herrera (France), art director National Geographic France, Marloes Krijnen (the Netherlands), director Foam_Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, Erik Refner (Denmark), photographer Berlingske Tidende and Massimo Siragusa (Italy), photographer Agenzia Contrasto. The purpose of the masterclass is to further young and talented photographers' insight into photojournalism. In preparation for the meeting, the participants will execute a photo essay on one single theme, which for this year is: ‘Balance'. The essays will be discussed during sessions with the masters and edited into a publication. Since the inception of the Joop Swart Masterclass in 1994, a total of 164 young photographers have participated in the program, many of them moving on to establish themselves as today's leading photojournalists. In the 2008 World Press Photo contest, 14 of the 59 prizewinners - including Tim Hetherington, winner of the Premier Award - were former participants in the Joop Swart Masterclass. The Joop Swart Masterclass is supported by Delta Lloyd Group, Stichting Democratie en Media and Canon, who provides all participants with a grant. World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon and TNT. Editors please note: For more press information about the Joop Swart Masterclass, please contact the press department at press@worldpressphoto.org or +31 (0)20 676 6096.