15.04.2021 – 11:01

dpa photographer Anas Alkharboutli honoured at Sony World Photography Awards and Pictures of the Year Asia

dpa photographer Anas Alkharboutli has won two awards for his work in civil war-torn Syria. He won the Sports category at the Sony World Photography Awards today with a series of pictures of children practising karate in the town of Aljiina. Another award went to Anas Alkharboutli last Sunday at the Pictures of the Year Asia for a photo taken after an air raid on the town of Sarmin (Award of Excellence, Spot News category).

"We are delighted about the awards for Anas Alkharboutli in two very strong competitions," says Oliver Weiken, head of dpa's international photo service in Cairo. "With journalistic flair, photographic skill, and astuteness in the choice of subjects, we witness through Anas often very intimate moments of the terrible suffering of the people in Syria, who have now been in civil war for over 10 years, but also their resilience and will to shape a better future especially for the next generation of young Syrians. I also see Anas' prizes as recognition for dpa's international photo service, whose work has once again been honoured at the highest level in two photo competitions."

The series of pictures, which won a prize at the Sony World Photography Awards, shows a group of children practising karate with their trainer Wasim Satot. The school is located in the village of Aljiina in Aleppo province. Wasim Satot is 38 years old and a black belt. With his project, in which he has brought together 10 able-bodied children and 10 with disabilities between the ages of 6 and 15, he wants to better integrate the children and adolescents into society through sport. The series of pictures was taken in September 2020.

The photo that won Anas Alkharboutli the Pictures of the Year Asia award shows a grieving man bending over the body of a child killed in an airstrike on the town of Sarmin in Idlib province. The picture was taken on February 2, 2020.

Anas Alkharboutli, born in 1992, studied engineering at the University of Damascus. In 2015, he began working as a photojournalist and quickly made a name for himself with his sensitive image and video recordings from the Syrian civil war and has since been awarded several international picture prizes.

In early 2020, Anas Alkharboutli was honoured with an Award of Excellence in the Daily Life category at the Pictures of the Year International. Furthermore, in October 2020, he won the Young Reporter Trophy (Photo) at the 27th Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for War Correspondents, as well as an Honourable Mention at the 2020 UNICEF Photos of the Year. He also achieved first place at the 2020 dpa Pictures of the Year in the Story category. He also received an Award of Excellence in the Daily Life category at the Pictures of the Year International in 2021. All his award-winning pictures show life in war-torn Syria.

The Sony World Photography Awards are among the most prestigious international photography prizes and are aimed at aspiring and established photographers alike. The prize was awarded for the 14th time. The Pictures of the Year Asia, on the other hand, celebrated its premiere this year as a regional offshoot of the well-known Pictures of the Year international and is aimed specifically at photographers from the Middle East and Asia.

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