World press photo expo opens today

World press photo expo opens today

JAKARTA (JP): The annual 1997 World Press Photo Exhibition is
to open today at Erasmus Huis on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, South
Jakarta, and continue until Feb. 22.

The Royal Netherlands Embassy announced yesterday that the
traveling exhibition would display winning pictures from the
worldwide photography competition.

This year's exhibition in Indonesia is jointly sponsored by
Erasmus Huis and Suara Pembaruan daily, the embassy said.

Visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo, along with
his Indonesian counterpart Ali Alatas, is scheduled to open the
exhibition at 6:30 p.m.

The contest, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year,
reviewed 35,650 images taken by 3,663 photographers from 119
countries.

In 1996, Indonesian crime reporter Sholihuddin of the
Surabaya-based Jawa Pos daily grabbed first prize in the Spot
News category with a photograph of a military truck tipping over
with 100 frightened youths on board and a military driver at the
wheel.

The annual exhibition is staged at 65 venues in 35 countries,
and all prizewinning entries are exhibited and published in a
book.

The organizer of the contest, the Netherlands-based World
Press Photo Foundation, calls itself an independent platform for
international press photography and aims to increase public
interest in the medium and promote the free flow of information
worldwide.

Prior to the opening ceremony, local organizers will hold a
discussion on photojournalism at 10:30 a.m. today. (bsr)