Reza Deghati

Reza Deghati
Born	(1952-07-26) July 26, 1952 Tabriz, Iran
Residence	Paris
Nationality	French—Iranian
Ethnicity	Azerbaijani
Occupation	Photojournalist
Website	http://rezaphotography.org/

Reza Deghati (born July 26, 1952 in Tabriz, Iran) is an Iranian-French photojournalist who works under the name Reza (Persian: رضا‎‎).

Biography

Reza was born Tabriz from Azerbaijani origin, has covered much of the globe for National Geographic Magazine. Several films about Reza's work have been produced by National Geographic Television, most notably Frontline Diaries, which won an Emmy Award in 2002. In 2003, Reza served as Creative Director for National Geographic's most viewed documentary, Inside Mecca. As part of its Exceptional Journeys series, National Geographic released a DVD in May 2008 looking at Reza's career as a photojournalist, with special features highlighting his extensive humanitarian work.

In 2001, he founded Aina (Persian for The Mirror), an international non-profit organization dedicated to educating and empowering Afghan women and children through the media. By providing educational opportunities in the field of communications and multimedia, Aina aims to equip Afghans with the skills required to build a self-sufficient, democratic, and unified country. In 1991, Reza served as a consultant to the United Nations in Afghanistan, helping to distribute food to populations in war-torn parts of the country. For his work on such humanitarian causes and because of his work with Aina in Afghanistan, National Geographic awarded him the title of National Geographic Fellow in 2006.

He spends much of his time as lecturer, trainer, and visiting professor, giving presentations and running workshops on global issues. His humanitarian work and photojournalism have been recognized by international institutions and universities, including George Washington University, Stanford University, Beijing University and the Sorbonne in Paris. He also participated in documentary projects for the French photography website 24h.com.

Reza's photographs have been exhibited in major cities throughout the world. War+Peace (2009), an exhibit featuring thirty years worth of Reza's photojournalistic adventures, was held at the Caen Memorial (Peace Museum) in Normandy, France. One World, One Tribe (2006), was the National Geographic Museum's first outdoor exhibition in Washington D.C, and, Reza's landmark exhibition in Paris, drew a million visitors.

Over the last three decades, many of Reza’s photographs have been on the covers of National Geographic Magazine, with many more featured in major international publications. He is also the author of seventeen books, including War+Peace, the first in a series entitled Masters of Photography by National Geographic, and most recently, Sindhbad, Reza's adaptation of the seven journeys of this mystical character from the classic tale, A Thousand and One Nights. Childhood Promise is the story of discovery, narrated by three people, about a promise made by Reza to his son, Delazad.

In 1996, Reza won the Hope Prize for his contribution to a joint project with UNICEF in Rwanda entitled Lost Children's Portraits. In 2005, he was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, France’s highest civilian honour, for his philanthropic work in the areas of children’s education and the empowerment of women in the media. In 2006, Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe presented him with the Prince of Asturias Humanitarian Medal on behalf of National Geographic. The same year, Reza received the Honor Medal from the University of Missouri - Columbia School of Journalism “in recognition of his lifelong contributions, through photojournalism, to justice and dignity for the world’s citizens." He also received an award recognizing his humanitarian work from the University of Chicago.

In 2008, Reza became a senior fellow of the Ashoka Foundation, and in May 2009, received the Honorary Degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the American University of Paris (AUP) for his achievements in journalism and humanitarianism. In October 2009, he received the Lucie Award for Achievement in Documentary from the New York-based Lucie Foundation and in May 2010, in New York, the Infinity Award of ICP (International Center of Photography) honoured Reza for his latest report on Afghanistan; “Once upon a time, the Russian Empire”, in Photojournalism category. Reza is currently planning a new photography project with residents of the Sicilian suburb of Librino, as well as another major project in Burkina Faso.

• Tolerance Cup
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Bibliography

• Paix en Galilée, Les Editions de Minuit, 1983
• Bayan Ko, Jaca Book, 1986
• Paris-Pékin-Paris, Editions d’Art Phoebus, 1987
• Air Race Around the World, Imax, 1992
• Kurdes. Les chants brûlés, Benteli, 1993
• Massoud, des Russes aux talibans, 20 ans de résistance afghane, n°1, 2001
• La France. Midi-Pyrénées et Languedoc Rousillon, National Geographic Society, 2001
• Eternités Afghanes, Editions du Chêne et Unesco, 2002
• Le pinceau de Bouddha, La Martinière, 2002
• Plus loin sur la Terre, Hors Collection, 2002
• Destins Croisés – Carnets d’un reporter photographe, Hors Collection, 2003
• Insouciances, Castor & Pollux, 2004
• Sur la Route de la Soie, Hoëbeke, 2007
• Reza War + Peace, Focal Point, 2008
• Reporters Sans Frontières - 100 photos pour la liberté de la presse, RSF, 2008
• Vers l’Orient, Sindbad par Reza, Glénat, 2009
• Chemins Parallèles, Hoëbeke, 2009
• Sindbad by Reza, Glénat, 2009
• derrière l'Objectif, Hoëbeke, 2010
• Les âmes rebelles (Rebellious souls), Democratic Books, 2010
• L’Envol, La Conférence des Oiseaux (Soaring : The Conference Of The Birds), Democratic Books, 2010
• Algérie, Michel Lafon, 2012
• Learning a living, Bloomsbury Qata Foundation Publishing, 2012

Awards

• 1983 World Press Photo second prize
• 1996 UNICEF Hope Prize for his work on Rwandan Refugee Camps
• 2005 Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite
• 2006 Prince of Asturias Prize for being a representative of National Geographic Society
• 2006 Missouri Honor Medal of best journalist
• 2008 Senior fellow of the Ashoka Foundation
• 2009 "Doctor Honoris Causa" from the American University of Paris (AUP) for his achievements in journalism and humanitarianism
• 2009 Lucie Award for Achievement in Documentary from the New York-based Lucie Foundation
• 2010 ICP (International Center of Photography) Infinity Award

External links

• Webistan Photo Agency
• Ainaworld
• Reza's books on Webistan Photo Agency's website

About Reza

• The Focus Award on WPO
• Reza's work on World Press Photo
• About Reza on Roverarts
• About Reza on NPR
• Reza at the Universal Forum of Culture of Barcelona - 2004
• Video of Reza's presentation on 'Power of image for social changes' at the Northeastern Illinois University in March 2011 on YouTube
• Reza's profile on the Ashoka Fellowship's website in 2008
• Short film about Reza on YouTube
• Metropolis, ARTE – Discovering photography with Reza :In Librino, popular suburb of Catania (Sicily, Italy), 100 Sicilian youths learn about photography, visual art and storytelling with Reza on YouTube
• Profile on Saatchi-gallery

About Aina

• Aina a human adventure on National Geographic's website
• About Aina on Cultures of resistance
• Article about Aina by The Guardian

Interviews

• Reza's interviewed on "War + Peace" - 2008 on YouTube
• Reza's interviewed by Riz Khan on "One on one" - 2009 (part 1) on YouTube
• Reza's interviewed by Riz Khan on "One on one" - 2009 (part 2) on YouTube

Exhibitions

• War and Peace Exhibition at Peace Memorial Museum - City of Caen, Normandy- April 2009
• One world one tribe at La Villette park in Paris- April / September 2010
• Financial Solidarity Exhibition at Paris Stock Exchange Palace- November 2010
• Childhood promise at Paris Metro Luxembourg- September 2010/ January 2011
• The Rebellious Souls at Castle of Carrouges - Normandy- May / June 2011
• National Geographic about Reza's latest exhibition "A childhood promise"
• A childhood promise's website
• One world, one tribe on digitaljournalist.org
• Reza Toulouse
• HOPE: A Retrospective by Reza