The VII Foundation

JOIN US IN ARLES SEE THE FULL PROGRAM · JULY 6–9, 2026

Armed Iranian women carrying rifles take part in a parade during a ceremony pledging allegiance to Iran’s new leader, organized by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2026, during a ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.-Israel coalition. © Ali Khara.

re-Imagined: Reflections on Peace

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The slap that changed the world 1982. © Donna Ferrato.

Donna Ferrato’s “Documentation is Sacred”

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Fernando Cruz casts his fishing net along the shore of Cedeňo beach, Honduras, Nov 29, 2024. © Santi Palacios.

Going Beyond the Problem: What Is Solutions Visual Journalism?

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Marta Fast sits in the bedroom of a small house in Rot-Front, a village in Kyrgyzstan’s Chüy Region, on Oct. 10, 2022, while visiting her birthplace. Like most ethnic Germans in the village, she and her husband, Jakob Fast, immigrated to Germany in the late 1990s. Marta’s German father remained in Kyrgyzstan, fluent in Kyrgyz and deeply connected to the community, but encouraged his daughter to leave due to their experiences as a small ethnic minority facing discrimination. Marta knows her family’s story well. Her grandfather was taken by the Black Raven (Чёрный ворон), an NKVD prisoner-transport van used for nighttime arrests during Stalin’s Great Terror. In March 1938—her mother’s seventh birthday—he was arrested at his home in nearby Telman and executed that same day. The NKVD’s 1937–38 German Operation targeted ethnic Germans in the Soviet Union with mass arrests, executions, or Gulag deportations—like my grandfather’s fate. © Irina Unruh.

SQUARE MILE: WHAT LIVES BETWEEN US

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The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo

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Ira, 19, supports her boyfriend, Mischa, in the hospital after he lost both his legs defending Ukraine, 2022. © Svet Jacqueline.

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the vii foundation

The VII Foundation is committed to in-depth journalism covering the crucial issues of our time. In a world where beliefs and actions are increasingly out-of-sync with facts and realities, our response is to ensure the truth is documented to enable communities worldwide to make evidence-based choices about the challenges impacting their lives.

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the vii foundation Film Lab A Program for Majority World Voices in film the vii foundation Film Lab A Program for Majority World Voices in film

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Long lines for water and flour are made by women of refugee families. © Ebrahim Alipoor / VII Mentor Program.

Report

EXHIBITIONS → PHOTOGRAPHERS →

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U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Officer Eugene Goodman confronts protesters as they storm the Capitol in Washington, D.C., after listening to a speech by President Trump on January 6, 2021. A large mob convened in Washington, D.C., for a "Save America" or "Stop the Steal" rally incited by President Trump and stormed the United States Capitol building, fighting with police and damaging offices and rooms as they made their way through the building. As President Trump openly condoned the violence, the D.C mayor called for a 6 PM curfew and mobilized the National Guard. © Ashley Gilbertson / VII.

FILMS

THE STRINGER → EAT UP →

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"The Stringer" Director Bao Nguyen and crew. Ho Chi Minh City. March 2024. © Gary Knight.

ENGAGE

UPCOMING EVENTS → DISPATCHES BLOG →

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Chechnya contact sheet © Christopher Morris.

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news

An Afghan girl sits in front of a bakery in the crowd with Afghan women waiting to receive bread in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 31, 2022. © Ali Khara.

INTRODUCING the 2026–2027 VII Mentor Program Cohort

Our open call for application once again received an astounding number of entries, requiring careful review through several selection rounds. In addition to choosing five participants through our open call, we also partnered with Ian Parry Grant to invite the winner, Omar Ashtwy, to be a part of our program. He has been paired with Ali Arkady, himself a former VII Mentee.

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Anti ICE protestors clash with ICE agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during a protest January 17, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ron haviv in in Minneapolis, Minnesota

“I’ve photographed under dictators, societies on the cusp of breakup, and outright invasion. One of the closest comparisons I see, in terms of class, economics, and values, is the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s...We are not there yet, but when rhetoric is backed by armed force, that’s how escalation begins. We’re starting to get used to the visualization of militarization on the streets,” writes Director of The VII Foundation Ron Haviv.

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Photograph by Ulysse Fiévé.

Dispatches in Exile – Goldziher Fellowship Announced

Applications are now open for the Dispatches in Exile – Goldziher Fellowship, a four-month paid mentorship for a Palestinian journalist living outside Palestine. The fellowship offers comprehensive editorial guidance, a monthly stipend of $500, and publication of selected work on the Dispatches in Exile portal.

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