What does it mean to document war crimes? What role does photography play in the pursuit of truth and justice? The photography exhibition A Brief Guide to Investigating War Crimes, presented by iMEdD in Thessaloniki, seeks to answer these questions through the work of Ron Haviv, one of the world’s most renowned war photographers.
Haviv, co-founder of the VII Foundation, has documented conflicts across the globe, from Bosnia and Kosovo to Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine. His photographs have been used as evidence in international courts and have shaped historical memory in significant conflicts.
The exhibition is hosted at Stereosis from March 7 to March 20, 2025, in collaboration with the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN). It features images by Haviv as well as other photographers from the VII Foundation. The photographs, based on the GIJN’s Guide to Investigating War Crimes, highlight both the harsh reality of conflict and the importance of investigative journalism in war crimes investigations.
The exhibition’s opening on March 7 was attended by students, photography and journalism professionals, citizens, and individuals interested in war reporting and crime investigation.
Anna Kynthia Bousdoucou (Co-Founder and CEO of iMEdD) welcomed the audience, expressing the pleasure and honour of the organisation for this exhibition, the result of an important international collaboration aimed at strengthening investigative journalism. She referred to iMEdD’s vision of supporting independent, investigative journalism, the role of photography in recording history and the connection between the exhibition and the International Forum of Journalism ’24, where it was presented for the first time, as well as the collaboration with the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
Ron Haviv shared his thoughts on the photographer’s role as a witness and the power of images in capturing the reality of war. He explained how each photograph tells a story that extends beyond the moment it was taken.
Finally, on behalf of the photography school Stereosis, Angelos Zymaras thanked iMEdD and Haviv, underlining the exhibition’s importance for the local photography community.
Documenting war crimes with Ron Haviv
Tim McShea, a student at Johns Hopkins University, discusses with award-winning photojournalist Ron Haviv the stories behind some of his iconic photos.
On Saturday, March 8, at the workshop “Investigating War Crimes”, Haviv shared his experiences of documenting conflicts, focusing on best practices for documenting war crimes through photography and video. Participants had the opportunity to understand how an image can serve as evidence and contribute to justice, while discussing the ethical challenges that accompany the profession of war photojournalism.
On Sunday 9 March, the lecture “Testimony 1989-2024” was a retrospective on the most important war conflicts of the last 35 years. Haviv presented images and videos from the conflict fields. Using photographs from Bosnia and Ukraine as examples, he highlighted how his photographs were used as evidence of war crimes being committed, as well as the role and responsibility of photographers in war zones.
The three-day event concluded with a guided tour of the exhibition, where Haviv engaged with Stereosis students in a meaningful discussion about the challenges faced by photojournalists in the field.
Four organizations came together for this initiative, fostering dialogue in a city with an active journalism, photography, and photojournalism community. The exhibition emphasized the power of images and provided a valuable opportunity for professionals and emerging creators to connect and exchange ideas.
The exhibition remains open until March 20. More details at stereosis.com.
