Speech by H.E. Dr. Nikolaos van Dam, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
at the World Press Photo Exhibition 2008

Yth. Bapak Surya Paloh, Chairman of Media Group
Friends of the media

When I received the invitation to open the 2008 World Press Photo Exhibition I felt honoured to be able to represent my country in such an important event. As most of you know, World Press Photo is an institution that originated in Amsterdam, and still has its headquarters in this city. As a Dutchman I feel proud that my country hosts this institution that has proven crucial in the struggle for such important values as freedom of press, impartial journalism, and access to information. The Dutch government continuously supports World Press Photo and its cause, also financially, making the exhibition in Jakarta possible today.

World Press Photo is internationally renowned for organising its yearly contest. The contest was set up more than forty years ago with the aim to strengthen the position of photojournalism. This contest is now widely recognised not only as an important force in stimulating the profession of photojournalism but also in educating the publishers of printed and visual media to recognise the importance of quality photography.

What we are interested in today are pictures which convey a story and pictures which move the spectator, pictures that make a difference. In today’s fast-moving world with its continuous bombardment of the senses, such pictures are more important than ever.

The task of the World Press Photo jury is not an easy one, selecting from thousands of pictures the one image or series of images that manages to capture the essence of an event. In a sea of madness, cruelty, despair and hope, the jury has to find the one image that represents most eloquently the events that surround us.

In a sense the jury performs the same task as the contributing photographers: they look for the decisive moment in the photos telling the story of the past year. The decisive moment of 2007 was captured by UK photographer Tim Hetherington, showing the horrors of war by picturing the despair of a US soldier in Afghanistan. It is precisely this single-minded commitment to the decisive moment that has cemented the international reputation of World Press Photo contest.

Freedom of the press is a vital condition for the implementation of human rights. Therefore it is only logical to open this exhibition in the wake of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was observed last Wednesday, around the world and also in Indonesia.

I would like to thank the organisers for their commitment and their efforts to make the World Press Photo Exhibition 2008 accessible to as many Indonesians as possible.
I wish the spectators an informative and unforgettable experience.

Thank you.