about us

our mission

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.

The foundation does this by empowering new voices through education, especially from under-resourced regions where press freedom is limited and journalists are vulnerable. We train practitioners to cover their local communities and global problems, and we produce large-scale and long-term documentary projects that advocate change and detail solutions. We bring new and neglected perspectives to the public agenda and host conversations that campaign for a diverse, safe and viable profession, especially for freelancers worldwide. 

support our work


We want to expand our work, and there are many ways to join our existing partners and support our growth.

Displaced women ride from the Kutum market to the Fata Borno Camp for the displaced under escort by South African soldiers of the African Union in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, Jan. 19, 2007. The trek will take the women 15 kilometers (9 miles) through open territory. Women are frequently attacked and raped by government-allied Janjaweed militias when they venture out into open territory. © Gary Knight / VII.

educate

We deliver tuition-free educational courses, professional programs, and mentoring at our campuses in Arles and Sarajevo, through our online platforms, and in the field. We have trained over 1,200 young journalists from 100 countries who report from communities worldwide. We also have a support network for our alums, VII Community, as they develop sustainable careers.  

The VII Foundation’s educational focus is on visual journalism. Whether it be documentary practice, narrative photography, or photojournalism, our goal is to equip practitioners with the skills to make visual storytelling the core around which reporting unfolds. 

The three levels of the Visual Journalism Program and the Mentor Program are tuition-free. Practitioners can also take vocational courses or workshops by contributing photographers. These courses offer training in a broad spectrum of media practice, including image-making, ethics, filmmaking, research, writing, and media entrepreneurship. 

More →

report

The VII Foundation creates large-scale and long-term documentary projects, exhibitions, and films that reveal complex realities, advocate for change, and serve as resources for policymakers, journalists, and the public worldwide. 

More →

campaign

We are committed to freedom of the press, advocate for journalists’ safety, and support individuals in vulnerable situations. We organize public conversations that promote independent reporting as a tool for civic engagement and social impact. Our regular online events and in-person presentations–as well as Dispatches, our Substack publication–probe the production and power of images and campaign for a diverse, secure, and viable profession, especially for freelancers worldwide. 

More →