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View of a group of residents from the Wardian district going to the local party at Masr station, one of the main stations. It takes about 15 minutes to load the passengers. Alexandria, Egypt, April 2, 2019. © Fatma Fahmy for VII Mentor Program.
Dervishes perform Sama at the entrance of a village in Kurdistan. The Sama is one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach religious ecstasy. Every year, Dervishes perform Sama in 30 villages over 30 days to attract people to their Tariqa. © Ebrahim Alipoor for the VII Mentor Program.
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about

The VII Mentor Program provides a structured professional environment for emerging new talents in the industry, focusing on those from the Majority World and underrepresented communities.

The first-of-its-kind program was launched by VII Photo Agency in 2008 and is now managed by The VII Foundation. This 12-month program pairs selected visual journalists with experienced the foundation’s contributing photographers.

current mentees

A man trying to revive Dariush Shukri, a 22-year-old man who was caught in an avalanche on a path in Koolbari. Efforts to revive him did not work. In the winter, avalanches are one of the main causes of death in Koolbari. © Ebrahim Alipoor for the VII Mentor Program.
A man trying to revive Dariush Shukri, a 22-year-old man who was caught in an avalanche on a path in Koolbari. Efforts to revive him did not work. In the winter, avalanches are one of the main causes of death in Koolbari. © Ebrahim Alipoor for the VII Mentor Program.
Ebrahim Alipoor →
Kurdistan, Iran
View of a group of residents from the Wardian district going to the local party at Masr station, one of the main stations. It takes about 15 minutes to load the passengers. Alexandria, Egypt, April 2, 2019. © Fatma Fahmy for VII Mentor Program.
View of a group of residents from the Wardian district going to the local party at Masr station, one of the main stations. It takes about 15 minutes to load the passengers. Alexandria, Egypt, April 2, 2019. © Fatma Fahmy for VII Mentor Program.
Fatma Fahmy →
Cairo, Egypt
Ina, from Ochamchire, looks through the window of her room at the former Soviet Sanatorium “Megobroba” in Tskaltubo, Georgia, on July 7, 2021. She fled to the Imereti region at age 18 during the 1992 war, was bride-kidnapped upon arrival, and raised three children alone. She is now awaiting an apartment. © Tako Robakidze for the VII Mentor Program.
Ina, from Ochamchire, looks through the window of her room at the former Soviet Sanatorium “Megobroba” in Tskaltubo, Georgia, on July 7, 2021. She fled to the Imereti region at age 18 during the 1992 war, was bride-kidnapped upon arrival, and raised three children alone. She is now awaiting an apartment. © Tako Robakidze for the VII Mentor Program.
Tako Robakidze →
Tbilisi, Georgia
Folk holiday Malanka celebration in Bukovyna, Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine, 2015. © Oleksandr Rupeta for the VII Mentor Program.
Folk holiday Malanka celebration in Bukovyna, Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine, 2015. © Oleksandr Rupeta for the VII Mentor Program.
Oleksandr Rupeta →
Ukraine
In the summer of 1998, India conducted a series of underground nuclear test codenamed Operation Shakti, which involved five nuclear bomb detonations. Khaju Khan, a shepherd, was out in the desert pastures with his flock on that day. “I saw a gigantic cloud of dust coming from the Pokhran firing range. At first I believed it to be a storm till I returned to Chacha village which had a large number of army deployed to evacuate the villagers,” shared Khaju Khan. © Chinky Shukla for the VII Mentor Program.
In the summer of 1998, India conducted a series of underground nuclear test codenamed Operation Shakti, which involved five nuclear bomb detonations. Khaju Khan, a shepherd, was out in the desert pastures with his flock on that day. “I saw a gigantic cloud of dust coming from the Pokhran firing range. At first I believed it to be a storm till I returned to Chacha village which had a large number of army deployed to evacuate the villagers,” shared Khaju Khan. © Chinky Shukla for the VII Mentor Program.
Chinky Shukla →
New Delhi, India
The place on the river Janja where I learned to swim. My journey along its course is part of a continuing project that explores, depicts and exposes the complex cultural, physical, economic and ecological situation along this relatively small river long 53 kilometers. © Mitar Simikic for the VII Mentor Program.
The place on the river Janja where I learned to swim. My journey along its course is part of a continuing project that explores, depicts and exposes the complex cultural, physical, economic and ecological situation along this relatively small river long 53 kilometers. © Mitar Simikic for the VII Mentor Program.
Mitar Simikic →
Bosnia-Herzegovina
A Ukrainian internally displaced person (IDP) who escaped from Irpin, a Kyiv suburb heavily affected by fighting and shelling, arrives with her dog and family at a location before the destroyed bridge leading into the city. The scene was captured in the third week of the Russian invasion on March 12, 2022. © Byron Smith for the VII Mentor Program.
A Ukrainian internally displaced person (IDP) who escaped from Irpin, a Kyiv suburb heavily affected by fighting and shelling, arrives with her dog and family at a location before the destroyed bridge leading into the city. The scene was captured in the third week of the Russian invasion on March 12, 2022. © Byron Smith for the VII Mentor Program.
Byron Smith →
Athens, Greece

2022-2023 mentees

Haleema, a disabled Kashmiri woman stands near the window of a mosque in old city Srinagar.The two decades of Kashmir conflict has left almost a 100,000 people dead. Most of them bread-earning young men who left behind their mothers, wives, sisters, and children. Thousands of women live in extreme poverty and depression. There are around 800,000 people in Kashmir who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and most include women who witnessed someone dying in their immediate or extended families
Haleema, a disabled Kashmiri woman stands near the window of a mosque in old city Srinagar.The two decades of Kashmir conflict has left almost a 100,000 people dead. Most of them bread-earning young men who left behind their mothers, wives, sisters, and children. Thousands of women live in extreme poverty and depression. There are around 800,000 people in Kashmir who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and most include women who witnessed someone dying in their immediate or extended families
sharafat Ali →
Kashmir, India
Photo by Juan Pablo Ampudia / VII Mentor Program. A girl plays with soap bubbles outside her hut in a Quilombo, a remote settlement originally founded as a refuge for runaway slaves and their descendants, near Cachoeira, Brazil, on February 19, 2017.
Photo by Juan Pablo Ampudia / VII Mentor Program. A girl plays with soap bubbles outside her hut in a Quilombo, a remote settlement originally founded as a refuge for runaway slaves and their descendants, near Cachoeira, Brazil, on February 19, 2017.
Juan Pablo Ampudia →
Mexico City, Mexico
083-D _ Belonging-00277736 1
Debsuddha →
Kolkata, India
KD_7 web
Kimberly dela Cruz →
Manila, Philippines
grace-ekpu-portfolio-web
Grace Ekpu →
Lagos, Nigeria
harib webb
Nada Harib →
Tripoli, Iran
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Joshua Irwandi  →
Jakarta, Indonesia
22.08.2015. Gevgelija, Macedonia (North Macedonia today). A refugee from Syria stares through barbed wire during a heavy downpour on no man's land between Greece and Macedonia. Thousands of refugees have been trapped for days and weeks in the open, exposed to extreme weather conditions, while waiting for a chance to continue their journey to Western Europe. ©Marko Risovic for the VII Mentor Program
22.08.2015. Gevgelija, Macedonia (North Macedonia today). A refugee from Syria stares through barbed wire during a heavy downpour on no man's land between Greece and Macedonia. Thousands of refugees have been trapped for days and weeks in the open, exposed to extreme weather conditions, while waiting for a chance to continue their journey to Western Europe. ©Marko Risovic for the VII Mentor Program
Marko Risovic →
Belgrade, Serbia
Farshid_01
Farshid Tighehsaz →
Tabriz, Iran

Leica Women Foto Project mentees

©Brooklynn Kascel for the VII Mentor Program
©Brooklynn Kascel for the VII Mentor Program
Brooklynn T. Kascel →
Minneapolis, USA
A man trying to revive Dariush Shukri, a 22-year-old man who was caught in an avalanche on a path in Koolbari. Efforts to revive him did not work. In the winter, avalanches are one of the main causes of death in Koolbari. © Ebrahim Alipoor for the VII Mentor Program.
A man trying to revive Dariush Shukri, a 22-year-old man who was caught in an avalanche on a path in Koolbari. Efforts to revive him did not work. In the winter, avalanches are one of the main causes of death in Koolbari. © Ebrahim Alipoor for the VII Mentor Program.
Ebrahim Alipoor →
Kurdistan, Iran
©Jackie Molloy for the VII Mentor Program
©Jackie Molloy for the VII Mentor Program
Jackie Molloy →
New York City, USA
Natalia Neuhaus/VII Mentor Program. “I am a very creative woman who is confident and uninhibited with a sweet and compassionate soul.”
Natalia Neuhaus/VII Mentor Program. “I am a very creative woman who is confident and uninhibited with a sweet and compassionate soul.”
Natalia Neuhaus →
New York City, USA

2008-2023 mentees

Agnes Dherbeys (2008-2011),
Benedicte Kurzen (2008-2010),
Adam Ferguson (2009-2010),
Anastasia Taylor-Lind (2009-2011),
Don McNeill Healy (2009-2011),
Giulio di Sturco (2009-2011),
Erin Trieb (2010-2013),
Giovanni Cocco (2010-2013),
Ilana Panich-Linsman (2010-2011),
Peter DiCampo (2010-2011),
Tanyth Berkeley (2010-2011),
Amanda Rivkin (2011-2013),
Chi Yin Sim (2011-2013),
Jost Franko (2011-2013),
Laura El Tantawy (2011-2013),
Mikolaj Nowacki (2011-2013),
Nafis Ahmed (2011-2013),
Arthur Bondar (2014-2016),
Cristobal Olivares (2014-2016),
Maika Elan (2014-2016),
Poulomi Basu (2014-2016),
Arnau Bach (2016-2018),
Esa Ylijaasko (2016-2018),
Luisa Dörr (2016-2018),
Mojgan Ghanbari (2016-2018),
Chris Lee (2018-2020),
Esther Ruth Mbabazi (2018-2020),
Fabiola Ferrero (2018-2020),
Hector Guerrero (2018-2020),
Line Ørnes Søndergaard (2018-2020),
Mathias Svold (2018-2020),
Sharon Castellanos (2018-2020),
Valentina Sinis (2018-2020),
Forough Alaei (2019-2022),
Fred Ramos (2019-2022),
Nolan Ryan Trowe (2019-2022),
Prin Rodriguez (2019-2022),
Swarat Ghosh (2019-2022),
Taha Ahmad (2019-2022),
Zinyange Auntony (2019-2022),
Debsuddha (2021-2023),
Farshid Tighehsaz (2021-2023),
Grace Ekpu (2021-2023),
Joshua Irwandi (2021-2023),
Juan Pablo Ampudia (2021-2023),
Kimberly dela Cruz (2021-2023),
Marko Risovic (2021-2023),
M’hammed Kilito (2021-2023)*,
Nada Harib (2021-2023),
Sharafat Ali (2021-2023),
Brooklyn Kascel (Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program 2022-2023),
Jackie Molloy (Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program 2022-2023),
Natalie Neuhaus (Leica Women Foto Project x VII Mentor Program 2022-2023).

in the press

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Santa Cruz del Islote, the only artificial island among the 10 in the San Bernardo archipelago. With 700 people on one hectare, it is considered the most densely populated island in the world. Oct. 13, 2018. © Charlie Cordero.

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Photo: Santa Cruz del Islote, the only artificial island among the 10 in the San Bernardo archipelago. With 700 people on one hectare, it is considered the most densely populated island in the world. Oct. 13, 2018. © Charlie Cordero.