As part of Monaco’s 75th anniversary celebrations of UNESCO membership, a selection of winning images from the 2024 Environmental Photography Awards, a Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation initiative, have gone on display at the organisation’s Paris headquarters.
On 3rd October, Anne-Marie Boisbouvier, Monaco’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, inaugurated an inspiring photography exhibition at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters.
The collection of photographs showcases the category winners of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s 2024 Environmental Photography Prize, an edition that was ultimately won by professional environmental photojournalist Aaron Gekoski with ‘See No Evil’, a harrowing photograph of Ning Nong, an orangutan forced to perform on a daily basis at Safari World in Bangkok.
See more: Aaron Gekoski’s ‘See No Evil’ wins the FPA2’s 2024 Environmental Photography Award
The exhibition is part of Monaco’s ongoing commemoration of its UNESCO membership, a journey that began in July 1949. Over the past year, various celebrations have highlighted UNESCO’s foundational pillars of culture and education, and now, science is taking its turn in the spotlight.
This exhibition also reflects Monaco’s commitments, led by Prince Albert II, to foster sustainable development and environmental awareness on a global scale.
At the exhibition’s inauguration, Ambassador Boisbouvier spoke of Monaco’s historical contributions to oceanography, a field in which the Principality has been a pioneer since the days of Prince Albert I. She cited Prince Albert I’s legacy, including the UNESCO MAB (Man and the Biosphere) programme, where an award named in his honour continues to inspire work in the sciences.
She also emphasised how photography is a unique tool that can communicate the urgency of environmental issues in ways that words or statistics cannot, noting that images have the power to evoke emotions and leave a lasting impression on viewers, potentially sparking personal and collective action for the environment.
The event attracted a distinguished audience, including: Simona-Mirela Miculescu, President of the UNESCO General Conference; Lidia Brito, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences; and Ernesto Ottone, Assistant Director-General for Culture, among others. A special emphasis was placed on engaging young people, with several students from the Fondation de Monaco at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris in attendance.
The exhibition is being hosted in the Ségur Hall of UNESCO and will remain on display until 14th October.
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Photo credit: Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco