Daniele Volpe is a documentary photographer based in Guatemala and mostly works in Latin America. He is working on long-term projects, as well as a frequent contributor of the main editorial outlets such The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Geographic, Geo France, Geo Germany and Stern among others. He is also a contributing photographer of humanitarian organizations like UNICEF, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of The Red Cross (ICRC). He was twice awarded for the World Press Photo and his works have also been recognized in other international contests as Picture of the Year International, The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). After a decade of work, his most extensive project, “Ixil Genocide”, focusing on the aftermath of genocide in Guatemala, explores the Ixil society and the impacts of such violence against them.

IVLP Impact Award Project: Dry Corridor 

The project used journalism and photography to raise awareness about food insecurity and climate change in an area known as the "Dry Corridor", which runs from the central to the southeastern part of the country and affects places as Quiche, Baja Verapaz, Zacapa, Chiquimula, and El Progreso. The region is home to about 10 million people in all of Central America, where historically people struggle with harvesting crops due to lack of rain. Daniele developed a solid, powerful and poetic collection of photos focused on child malnutrition, food and water access, harvest and daily life. He shared the photos using traditional media, exhibitions, screenings and talks to engage local audiences as a means to impact decision makers on public policies. Throughout the project, Daniele met with 50 community leaders, 18 nurses and 150 community members to discuss climate’s effect on agriculture and efforts to monitor health and disease prevention.

 

"I plan to monitor the harvests and the changes in weather patterns in order to describe the impact and challenges these have on the Maya Ch'ortí population." - Daniele Volpe

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Daniele was a participant in the IVLP Project A Global Moment in Time: Photojournalists Document the Challenges and Opportunities in the COVID Era, organized by the U.S. Department of State and World Learning.

Daniele's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "I'm feeling inspired by the visit we had to the "Portland Art Museum", during the exhibition "Perspectives". It was a collection of 60 images from different local authors, taken during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. The exhibition aimed to keep turning on a spotlight on a topic (racism) that, even after the end of the protests, unfortunately it's still present among the local community. The images help memory and contribute to building the social fabric around that specific topic."

U.S. Communities Visited

Washington, DC; St. Petersburg, FL; Portland, OR

Country: Guatemala

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