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NEW YORK, NEW YORK (October 3, 2008) – Award-winning photojournalist James Nachtwey revealed today the disease XDR-TB as the subject of his TED Prize wish. Nachtwey is premiering a slideshow that is the culmination of his wish to share an underreported worldwide story using news photography in the digital age. The story will be spread via an eight-page spread in TIME magazine, a gathering of global activists and leaders, and outdoor screenings around the world and across the Internet in an effort to raise awareness about the disease.
The TED Prize is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” In raising awareness about XDR-TB, a virulent, mutated strain of traditional TB existent in 49 countries and responsible for more than 20,000 preventable deaths each year, Nachtwey comments, “Photographers go to the extreme edges of human experience to show people what's going on. They aim their pictures at your best instincts: generosity, a sense of right and wrong, the ability and the willingness to identify with others, the refusal to accept the unacceptable.”
Nachtwey’s slideshow will be screened in public spaces in cities around the world, including New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Seoul, Hong Kong, and London, on all 7 continents and across the internet starting on October 3, and continuing throughout the month. Paul Simon (singer/songwriter), Larry Brilliant (Google.org), Joanne Carter (RESULTS), Winstone Zulu (survivor), and Marcos Espinal (World Health Organization) will all gather with Nachtwey in New York City for a special event this evening.
Joanne Carter, executive director of RESULTS USA, the medical advocacy group supporting the campaign, says, “We hope that the visibility achieved by the global unveiling of these photos will underscore the danger of underfunding and lack of global attention to TB programs, spur people around the world to demand action, and spur world leaders to act.”
Using haunting images in a digital slideshow, this multimedia campaign will raise awareness about XDR-TB and launch a social action campaign with partnering organizations RESULTS and Demos UK. The TED Prize (given annually at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California) made Nachtwey's project possible, along with medical technology company BD, TIME magazine, the Streaming Museum, Phantom Galleries, and many other key partners.
ABOUT JAMES NACHTWEY:
James Nachtwey is one of the best-known and most highly regarded current photojournalists working today. He has devoted himself to documenting wars, conflicts and critical social issues. He has worked on photographic essays worldwide, and is known for getting up close to his subjects, or as he says, “in the same intimate space that the subjects inhabit,” and his current project is evidence of that.
ABOUT TED & THE TED PRIZE:
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and it started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Its scope has expanded to become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes, which TED then shares online, to achieve its mission of spreading ideas globally.
The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED community’s exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and, much more important, the granting of “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. Past winners include Bono, Dr. Larry Brilliant, former President Bill Clinton, writer Dave Eggers, and religious historian Karen Armstrong.
ABOUT RESULTS:
RESULTS is a nonprofit grassroots advocacy organization committed to creating the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. Working with activists in the U.S. and in affected countries around the world, RESULTS advocates for increased resources and action to stop TB. www.results.org and www.action.org ABOUT DEMOS (UK):
Demos is a London-based think tank that uses ideas to foster progressive social and political change. Through its research, it works with institutions and organisations all over the world. Its aim is to turn complex issues into practical choices which will give people a greater say over their own lives. www.demos.co.uk
ABOUT BD:
BD is a leading global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. The company is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world by improving drug delivery, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases and cancers, and advancing research, discovery and production of new drugs and vaccines. For more information, please visit www.bd.com.