The Packard Foundation, Getty Images, and the Verbatim Agency partner to provide free for non-commercial use editorial images that capture the strength of women and girls in Bihar, India and Louisiana and Mississippi in the United States
Los Altos, Calif.—Today the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Getty Images, a world leader in visual communications and The Verbatim Agency released more than 300 high-quality editorial images into a publicly available online photo database capturing the strength and vibrancy of women and girls in two regions of the world: Bihar, India and Louisiana and Mississippi in the United States. Historically, images of women in developing countries have focused on poverty and need. The new collection provides a positive visual narrative of women and girls in these communities by showing women and girls in decision-making roles, accessing and providing quality reproductive health care, and as active participants in their communities.
The new Images of Empowerment collection titled Raising Her Voice, by Verbatim Agency award-winning photojournalists Paula Bronstein and Nina Robinson, is available free of charge to non-commercial users. The organizations and individuals photographed are at the nexus of quality reproductive health information and services including family planning, contraceptive choices, safe abortion care, and sexual health education for women and youth, empowering local women and girls to raise their voices about issues that affect them.
The new India and U.S. collection was funded by the Packard Foundation and builds upon the Images of Empowerment photo resource launched by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Getty Images in 2015. The previous collection of images focused on nine countries in Africa, Asia, and South America and provided positive images of the ways women work and support their families and communities there.
“It is inspiring to hear the stories of these young women and to see them in action by way of the Raise Her Voice collection,” said Christopher Cox, Director of Youth Programs for Teen Health Mississippi. “These young women are meeting face-to-face with their legislators to advocate for high-quality comprehensive sex education for all young people. It is time for today’s youth to amplify their voices on issues that directly affect them to ensure our policymakers are representing their interests.”
“We are committed to ensuring that women and girls have access to quality reproductive health information and services so they can make decisions about their bodies and their lives,” said Tamara Kreinin, Director of Population and Reproductive Health at the Packard Foundation. “These are images of strong, real women and girls, who are challenging society’s perception of them and their abilities. These photos show the world that women and girls from India to the U.S. are defining their own destiny, empowered to make choices that are best for them.”
“The potential of imagery to provoke conversation and drive change is unquestionable,” said Aidan Sullivan, CEO, Verbatim. “We’re excited to be involved in this partnership to create a collection that aims to provide a positive visual narrative of women and girls in these communities and effect real change.”
In addition to the full image sets, the Packard Foundation published a photo essay—Raising Her Voice, published on March 8, 2018 in honor of International Women’s Day—that features the images and perspectives from photojournalists Nina Robinson and Paula Bronstein on their respective experiences in the southern United States and Bihar, India.
To view and download the new Images of Empowerment photos, available under Creative Commons licensing: visit www.imagesofempowerment.org/Bihar for images from the Bihar region of India; visit www.imagesofempowerment.org/UnitedStates for images from Louisiana and Mississippi in the southern United States. To read the photo essay, Raising Her Voice, visit www.packard.org/2018/03/raising-her-voice.
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About the David and Lucile Packard Foundation: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private family foundation created in 1964 by David Packard (1912–1996), cofounder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucile Salter Packard (1914–1987). The Foundation provides grants to organizations in the following program areas: Conservation and Science; Population and Reproductive Health; Children, Families, and Communities; and Local Grantmaking. Learn more at www.packard.org.
About Paula Bronstein (Images of Empowerment: Bihar, India): Paula Bronstein is an American photojournalist with more than three decades of experience. Her many nominations and awards span decades and represent only a small space in what is simply a lifetime of phenomenal frontline news and documentary photography across the globe. She sits alongside the most important female photojournalists as a multiple nominee and award winner of international contests including The Pulitzer, Pictures of The Year International, and The National Press Photographer’s Association. She has judged some of the most important international photography contests, and exhibited extensively. Learn more at: www.paulaphoto.com.
About Nina Robinson (Images of Empowerment: the southern United States): Nina Robinson is a documentary photographer and educator based in Arkansas and New York. Her work is a mixture of past experiences, bridging documentary, personal, and fine art. She began her photography career shooting for The Reporter in Vacaville, CA. Going freelance, she had the freedom to pursue her interest in visual storytelling and portraiture, often photographing musicians and music groups. Her current work has a strong focus on underrepresented communities, aiming to break the visual prejudices of race, class, age, and gender. Her clients include, Netflix, New York Times, National Geographic, A+E Networks, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, Manhattan Magazine, Backstage Magazine, Novo Foundation, American Photo, TIME Lightbox, Lens Culture, and Wall Street Journal. In 2017 she won the annual Getty Images Instagram Grant for her project ‘An Arkansas Family Album’ that focused on an intimate exploration of loss, love and tradition in a rural black Southern community. Learn more at: www.ninarobinsonphotography.com.
About Getty Images
Getty Images has long been the undisputed world leader in visual communication, with customers in nearly every country in the world. Visit Getty images at www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how the company is revolutionizing the role of images in communications of business, and enabling ground breaking and creative ideas to become a reality. Find Getty Images on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Tumblr, or download the Getty Images app where you can explore, save and share the world’s best imagery.
About The Verbatim Agency
The Verbatim Agency is a creative content resource that amplifies Social Impact Initiative communications – offering master visual storytelling through the world renowned, award-winning photojournalists we represent combined with a commercial assignments agency with a global network of over 700 photographers and filmmakers. We partner with brands, advertising agencies and organizations to craft powerful, journalistically-driven visual narratives around social responsibility, philanthropic and cause-related initiatives. Our award-winning documentary filmmakers and photojournalists have the credibility and real-world experience to tackle sensitive, complex social issues. The results are authentic, transformative visual stories that engage, unite and have the power to change minds. To find out more about The Verbatim Agency, visit the website at www.theverbatimagency.com.