Justine-Kibler-award-winning-photo

University of Buckingham Lecturer wins international photography award

21 December 2018

Visiting Lecturer in Photojournalism, Justine Kibler beats over 300 entries to win an international award for her photograph of a school girl discussing sexual harassment.

The winning image displays the extraordinary moment a young girl stands up in front of the class to tell them how she had faced sexual harassment and what she had done to stop it.

Justine spent three months with the Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) where she led and supervised a team of young volunteers in their host country of Bangladesh.

The team was asked to organise a school session to combat challenges faced within the host community such as child marriage and gender inequality. They wanted to give young people a platform to discuss the issues in an open, safe and supportive environment.

Justine said: “Our aim was to both empower the girls and educate the boys in the hope that they’d spread these messages further.

Vice-Chancellor of The University of Buckingham, Anthony Seldon said: “It was in this truly inspiring moment that Justine decided to capture the young girl’s strength, passion and courage in a photograph that would later become the award winning image. This is a fantastic achievement and Justine should be extremely proud of herself.”

The trip was part of the International Citizen Service, a Government funded programme, where they have enabled more than 17,000 young people from the UK to volunteer overseas since 2012.

Justine said: “I’m very happy to have won this competition and for the opportunity to highlight some of the inspiring people and activities from my project.

“Volunteering with ICS gives everyone involved a life changing opportunity to help people in a meaningful and long-term way and also to bring home memories and experiences they will carry forward for years to come.”

Director of ICS at VSO, Felicity Morgan, said: “Thanks to UK aid, young volunteers are making a positive difference in the world’s poorest communities. Justine’s photo gives a snapshot of just some of the great work being done, and we’re proud to celebrate them this International Volunteer Day.”

Justine is a visiting lecturer in photojournalism and creative marketing officer at The University of Buckingham. She is also a freelance photographer and traveller and has photographed in over 25 countries.

Her images have appeared in The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Huffington Post, the BBC, as well as a number of international publications for travel photography. Visit her blog to see her other projects.