Ley Uwera (born 9 December 1989) is a Congolese

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

. She reports on conflicts and documents the sociocultural evolution of the eastern region of the African Continent, particularly within Congo. Uwera contributes to the Everyday Africa collective and she is a member of the

International Women's Media Foundation The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...

Early life

Ley Uwera was born in

Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

on December 9, 1989. Her photography journey began during her teenage years when she acquired her first camera, taking pictures of her family and the beautiful landscapes of Goma. Through her photos, she found a way to connect with people's emotions and tell powerful stories.

Career

She earned a journalism degree from the University of Cepromad. She is a fellow of the IWMF Great Lakes Reporting Initiative in the Central African Republic, and she has worked with a myriad of international outlets including

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

Aljazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which provi ...

Global Press Institute Global Press Institute is a Washington DC–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that publishes news from the world's least-covered places by local journalists instead of foreign correspondents. The organization consists of three divisions: G ...

and

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris by Jeune Afrique Media Group. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It o ...

. Her photography has been featured in various publications such as The New Humanitarian, Departures, Huck Magazine, The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

' "LENS" blog,

Upworthy Upworthy is a media brand that focuses on positive storytelling. It was started in March 2012 by Eli Pariser, the former executive director of MoveOn, and Peter Koechley, the former managing editor of '' The Onion''. One of Facebook's co-found ...

, Vantage, and

Vrij Nederland ''Vrij Nederland'' (Free Netherlands) is a Dutch magazine, established during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II as an underground newspaper. It has since grown into a magazine. The originally weekly turned monthly magazin ...

. Additionally, her work has been showcased at exhibitions in Fes,

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. She worked for

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

UNWOMEN The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

, Care, Drugs for Neglected Disease,

WFP The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

ICRC The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Packard Foundations, and Tear Fund, and has been involved in producing annual reports for Congo Research Group (CRG). Her photography documenting the Eastern Congo conflict was exhibited at the

Bayeux Calvados-Normandy award for war correspondents The Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents (French: Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandie des correspondants de guerre), previously the Bayeux-Calvados Awards for war correspondents, is an annual prize awarded since 1994, by the city of Ba ...

in France in 2023.

Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uwera, Ley Living people 1989 births People from Goma Republic of the Congo women journalists War photographers Women photojournalists