Iranian Photographer Newsha Tavakolian

34-year-old Iranian photographer of Armenian descent Newsha Tavakolian won the competition of the Dutch PrinceClaus Foundation in 2015. Within the scope of the project, Tavakolian worked in Syria and Iraq.

“Newsha is one of the first professional photojournalists and women in Iran to skillfully combine the art of photojournalism with a new understanding of the lives of people in Iran and the Middle East as a whole,” the Prince Claus Fund official website says.

Seeing with her own eyes what difficulties refugees from Middle Eastern countries are facing, Tavakolian decided to share her cash reward with them.

“While working in hot spots, I saw what difficulties people face when they leave their homes, and I realized that this award would not bring me joy,” Tavakolian wrote on her page on Facebook.

Recall that in September last year, Newsha Tavakolian was also awarded the prestigious Carmignac Gestion Award for a photo essay about her country. However, she was soon forced to refuse both the award itself and the cash prize since one of the award organizers forced her to edit the signatures for the captured photos and also alter the photos themselves.