About VII Academy

VII Academy promotes, teaches, and fosters high-quality journalism in the Majority World and in underrepresented communities in G20 countries by providing tuition-free media education and training.

Through real-world training and practice, we teach and mentor visual journalists in media practice, photojournalism, ethics, and media entrepreneurship. We aim to democratize the information narrative and give communities in the Majority World the tools to narrate their own stories and build a more resilient and robust global media environment.

VII Academy is the educational branch of The VII Foundation and is funded by Jennifer Stengaard Gross and Peter Stengaard of Blue Chip Foundation and The William, Jeff, and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation.

We teach online and in person at our two campuses in Arles, France, and Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Through our own teaching and by providing scholarships, on-campus seminars, and vocational workshops, VII Academy creates a valuable mentorship network between seasoned veterans and talented young visual journalists.

VII Academy core courses are 12-week seminars taught in multiple languages and offer advanced and unique visual education initiatives designed to diversify visual media education. Participants begin with the Level 1 course in photography before progressing to other levels.

You can learn more about VII Academy programming by visiting our Courses page.