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Holyrood's Festival of Politics opens with prestigious World Press Photo Exhibition
21 August, 2006
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The Scottish Parliament's Festival of Politics opens this week with one of world's most prestigious photographic exhibitions.
 The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, by Michael Appleton, New York Daily News. |
The World Press Photo exhibition, showing in Scotland for the first time, previews to the media today and opens to the public tomorrow. The exhibition contains more than 200 striking images from leading photojournalists, agencies, newspapers and magazines around the world. View a selection of winning images.
All the images are of life-changing world events in 2005, and include photographs taken in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (right), of families in Kashmir battling for survival following the earthquake last October, and images captured during conflict in the Middle East.
Among the prize-winning photojournalists is Kieran Dodds of the Evening Times and The Herald who was awarded first prize in the nature section for his photo story on the estimated eight million straw-coloured fruit bats that arrive in the Kasanka National Park in Zambia each October (below right).
The exhibition is free to view and has been brought to Scotland in association with the Scottish National Photography Centre. BAA Scotland has sponsored the event.
The Scottish Parliament's Presiding Officer, George Reid, said:
"The awe-inspiring images of the World Press Photo exhibition are not always comfortable viewing, but each year these images are sure to make a lasting impression on audiences worldwide.
"This prestigious global exhibition is the perfect prelude to the Festival of Politics 2006. Even bigger and better than last year's inaugural event, we've got around 50 events taking place over the next four days - covering everything from hard-hitting debate to cutting-edge comedy, as well as multi-cultural dance and home-grown Scottish folk music."
Taking place between 23-26 August, the Festival is one of the first of its kind for any parliament and brings together the worlds of politics, media and the arts through performance, discussion and debate.
 Migration of Fruit Bats in Zambia, by Kieran Dodds, Evening Times/The Herald. |
Top speakers this year include: newsreader George Alagiah, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell and TV historian Dan Snow. There will also be a unique live performance from three times winner of the 2005 BBC Folk on 2 awards, Karine Polwart.
Last year's inaugural Festival of Politics proved a groundbreaking addition to Edinburgh's festival season, attracting almost 3,000 people to 22 events and receiving an "Editors' Top Ten Award from ThreeWeeks - the Edinburgh festivals premier review publication.
Building on that success, this year's festival has been expanded by one day to include Saturday events for the whole family. The Festival will feature more than 50 debates, workshops and performances ranging from educational games for children to challenging discussions on global political issues.
Background Notes on World Press Photo
The free to view World Press Photo exhibition will line the Scottish Parliament's public foyer throughout the Festival up to 7 September 2006.
World Press Photo celebrated its 50 th anniversary in 2005. Each year, an independent international jury of thirteen members judges the entries in ten different categories. This year's competition attracted 4,448 photographers from 122 countries and is the largest international contest for professional press photographers.
The annual exhibition is shown each year in approximately 85 venues in 40 countries across the world, subject to the condition that all prizewinning entries are exhibited without censorship. This year's exhibition contains approximately 200 photographs. The Festival of Politics is staging the exhibition in association with the Scottish National Photography Centre. The cost of the exhibition's visit to Scotland is covered by sponsorship from BAA Scotland. The exhibition also receives international support from Canon, TNT and the Dutch Postcode Lottery.
The World Press Photo foundation is an independent platform for international press photography, founded in 1955 in the Netherlands . This platform manifests itself in the annual World Press Photo contest and the corresponding yearbook and exhibition.
Background Notes on Festival of Politics
Full programme details for the Festival of Politics are available at most major Edinburgh Festival venues, from the Scottish Parliament or from www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk.
Top names speaking at the Festival of Politics 2006 include:
- Rachel Elnaugh, star of BBC TV's Dragons' Den, and other top entrepreneurs listening to leading politicians pitch their vision for the Scottish economy;
- George Alagiah, the internationally acclaimed journalist and news presenter talking about his experiences reporting events from around the world;
- Dan Snow, historian and star of BBC TV's Battlefield Britain, analysing the significance of the battle of Culloden;
- Karine Polwart, multiple winner at the 2005 Folk on 2 Awards, performing with her band; and
- Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, talking informally about his life in politics, his vision for the party, for Scotland and beyond.
Discussion topics include conflict in the Middle East , the Battle of Culloden, Scottish Identity and the health of political democracy and entrepreneurship. Some of the Parliament's leading politicians have agreed to field questions from the public during a special edition of Parliamentary question time.
Tickets can be obtained:
- Online from: www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk. Online booking is available 24 hours up to 4pm on the day before the event.
- By telephone: 0131 473 2000 (calls via RNID Typetalk: 018001 0131 473 2000). Fax: 0131 473 2003.
- By post: to the Festival of Politics, Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh, EH1 2NE.
- In person at the Scottish Parliament or at the Hub.
Visitors to the Festival will be able to use the free crèche. The crèche opened in 2004 for members of the public visiting Parliament and provides up to four hours free child care for 0-5 year olds. For information call: 0131 348 6192.
To ensure Festival of Politics events are as accessible as possible, please specify requirements when booking tickets. While British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation is provided automatically at some events, it can be requested for any of the others. Assistance dogs are welcome and all venues are accessible for wheelchair users.
For further information contact: [email protected]
Telephone: 0131 348 6852.
For public information/general enquiries:
Telephone 0131 348 500 or 0845 278 1999 (local call rate)
E-mail: [email protected]
See also: World Press Photo - images from the opening event
More Festival of Politics news
The Festival of Politics is an initiative of the Scottish Parliament.
The Festival of Politics 2006 Partners are:
Standard Life; BAA Scotland; and ScottishPower.
