TOKYO, December 5, 2018—The Japanese Red Cross Society, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Canon Inc. will jointly host the "Voice of Africa" photo exhibition, to be held at the Minato Mirai Gallery (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture) from December 18 to 26.
A school in Maiduguri, Nigeria
The 2017 exhibition
Since 2015, the Red Cross and Canon have worked together to host this exhibition, which is part of the Red Cross' efforts to promote awareness of International Humanitarian Law1 and the current state of conflicts occurring throughout the world. This year's exhibition focuses on humanitarian crises in the countries of the Lake Chad region located in central and western Africa (Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger). The exhibition comprises 46 photographs taken by four photographers affiliated with Magnum Photos2.
With the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) scheduled to take place in Yokohama City in August 2019, this exhibition hopes to shed light on the humanitarian crises in the Lake Chad region, which have not been widely reported on by media and may not be well-known among the public. This region has been heavily affected by prolonged armed conflict, political unrest and climate change, which caused 2.4 million displacements. More than 10 million people are said to be in need of support, but aid remains insufficient. In order to raise awareness of the current situation, the ICRC dispatched four Magnum Photos photographers to the region from August to December 2017—Moises Saman (Cameroon), Lorenzo Meloni (Chad), Emin Özmen (Niger) and Newsha Tavakolian (Nigeria).
| Date & Time: | December 18 (Tue) - December 26 (Wed) 11:00 - 19:00 (Opens at 13:00 on 12/18) |
| Venue: | Minato Mirai Gallery 2-3-5 Minato Mirai Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa Queen's Square Yokohama Queen Mall 2F Approximately 3 minutes' walk from Minatomirai Station on the Minatomirai Line |
| Organizers: | Japanese Red Cross Society, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Canon Inc. |
| Partners: | Magnum Photos, Kanagawa Red Cross Volunteers for International Activities, Kanagawa Red Cross Volunteers for Red Cross Youth Activities |
| Support: | Group for recipients of the Japanese Red Cross Yuko Prize in Kanagawa |
| Admission: | Free of charge |
Under its corporate philosophy of "Kyosei," or the idea of all people, regardless of culture, customs, language or race, harmoniously living and working together in happiness into the future, the Canon Group has a long history of support for Red Cross activities including blood donation and educational programs. Canon supports the Red Cross' goal of promoting International Humanitarian Law and to help increase awareness of this photo exhibition and its theme, printed the 46 photos for the exhibit using its imagePROGRAF large-format inkjet printers and created display panels for each. Using the power of photography to convey messages, the company aims to help spread International Humanitarian Law, prevent needless damage and loss due to armed conflict and assist victims of conflict in regaining their independence and becoming active in their communities.
This exhibition is a Yokohama Community TICAD7 Partnership Program.
TICAD is an international conference on African development launched by Japan in 1993, attended by the nations of Africa as well as partner countries that provide aid and support and such groups supporting human rights and development as international organizations, civil society and NGOs.
