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In collaboration with the United Nations, the International Photographic Council (IPC) and The Dubai Mall, the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has launched a photography exhibition commemorating ‘United Nations Day’ which falls on the 24th of October of each year.
Titled, ‘People on the Move’, the exhibition is held at the Dubai Mall and showcases both the struggles and hardships endured by people fleeing their homes over the past 70 years, and their fortitude rebuilding their lives and contributing to their host and home countries. Concurrently, an identical exhibition has also been launched in the visitor’s lobby at the United Nation’s General Assembly Building in New York City by the United Nations and the International Photographic Council.
The exhibition is set to be the first of its kind to be hosted in the Middle East and will work towards enhancing Dubai’s place as a humanitarian and charitable hub to go with its current artistic and cultural international standing. Set to run until the 20th of November 2018, ‘People on the Move’ comes as part of HIPA’s various humanitarian projects launched locally and internationally.
Commenting on the launch of ‘People on the Move, Ali bin Thalith, Secretary-General of HIPA, said, "Photography plays a key role in today’s society. As per the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Patron of HIPA, it has been a goal of ours to enhance photography’s moral role in the world. We have worked very hard to bring this exhibition to Dubai to promote photography’s great influence on documenting major world events and crises. The exhibition is also a commemoration of the ‘United Nations Day’, and we are very proud to collaborate with the United Nations on this project which will no doubt draw the region’s attention to the plight of migrants and refugees around the world."
Commenting on the launch of the exhibition, Saeed Mohamed Al Nabouda, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award, said, "Choosing Dubai to host an exhibition of this magnitude and subject matter within the Middle East is testament that it is one of the most important cultural, intellectual and artistic capitals in the world. Dubai embraces this honour and understands the potential for both regional and international influence. The exhibition is aptly being held in the Dubai Mall, a location that attracts hundreds of visitors from different nationalities around the world to appreciate the history and plight of ‘People on the Move'."
Today, the number of international migrants worldwide stands at 258 million, about 3.4 percent of the world’s population. Nearly half of them are female. Amongst migrants born in a developing country – 72 percent of the global total – less than half are hosted in developed countries.
For her part, Alison Smale, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations, said, "We are delighted that these images are being made available to the public in Dubai and beyond. This region is both the source of and host to a vast number of refugees and is also a major recipient of migrant workers. The images in the exhibition give a human face to these global phenomena and the personal responses that they elicit serve to remind us all that we are all connected. Many thanks to our civil society and private sector partners for ensuring this impactful exhibition can reach more people."
The ‘People on the Move’ exhibition includes a total of 55 black and white and colour photographs captured over the last 70 years (1948-2018) from various parts of the world.
James Chung, President of the International Photographic Council (IPC), said, "IPC has been an NGO associated to the United Nations since 1984 and we are very happy to contribute to the materialisation of this great event in Dubai, which is the gateway to Asia and the world. This exhibition signifies ‘Peace through understanding, understanding through photography, the Universal Language’, which is the IPC’s slogan."
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