War and climate crisis at World Press Photo 2024 exhibit in Barcelona

The World Press Photo exhibition returns to the Contemporary Cultural Center of Barcelona's (CCCB) for the 2024 edition from November 8 to December 15. 

This year's exhibit features 129 pictures, most of them taken in 2023, and addresses global topics like the climate crisis, the wars taking place in Ukraine and Gaza, the humanitarian crisis taking place in Afghanistan, social and gender inequality and mental health, among many other issues. 

World Press Photo's picture of the year is also displayed at CCCB, which was awarded to the Palestinian photographer Mohammed Salem. The picture shows the consequences that the conflict in the Gaza Strip has on civilians. Salem portrays Inas Abu Maamar "cradling the body of her niece Saly, who was killed, along with her mother and sister, when an Israeli missile struck their home, in Khan Younis, Gaza." 

Another highlight of this year's exhibit is the work of Spanish photojournalist Jaime Rojo, whose work was recognized in the Stories category in North and Central America. Rojo's project follows the migration process of the monarch butterfly through Canada, the United States and Mexico, and reports on the importance of saving the species. 

On an interview with Catalan News, Jaime Rojo explained "I wanted to focus on the environmental threads the butterflies are facing, but also on the solutions and how many people are trying to protect this species." 

"Despite the depressing side of the story, there is a glimmer of hope," he added. 

"I think we –as photographers- are the voice of these animals that don't speak our language, so we have to tell their story. Winning the World Press Photo is an opportunity for me to speak about the monarch butterflies and give them global importance," he concluded. 

World Press Photo's 20th anniversary in Barcelona 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the exhibition being organized in Barcelona by the Photographic Social Vision Foundation and co-produced by the CCCB.  

After these two decades, the exhibition maintains its goals of portraying a wider vision of the world and the challenges that a global society faces, looking beyond the current headlines. 

To commemorate these twenty years, there is an additional exhibit on why press freedom matters. According to an estimate by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), nearly half of the world's population has no access to freely reported news and information.  

This additional exhibit shows a list of the more than 1,000 journalists who have been killed in the last twenty years. 

Tickets to see the exhibition cost €7 and can be purchased through CCCB's website or physically at the ticket office. There are also guided tours for the general public in Catalan and Spanish.