Paris, 2 July 2008 - Within the context of the International Photojournalism Festival "Visa pour l’Image" – Perpignan, Stephanie Sinclair (VII Network) will be awarded the 2008 CARE International Award for Humanitarian Reportage on September 4, 2008 during a special evening. The prize is 8,000 Euros thanks to the sponsorship of sanofi-aventis. Stephanie Sinclair was elected for her report A Cutting Tradition: Inside An Indonesian Female Circumcision Celebration.

The CARE International Award for Humanitarian Reportage is organized with the partnership of "Visa pour l’Image" since 1997. For the last 5 years the event has been sponsored by Sanofi-Aventis, along with the commitment of the company to side with CARE in humanitarian programs on the field like today in Myanmar, after cyclone Nargis.

Stephanie Sinclair’s work presents the duration of the celebration of the circumcision of young girls in Indonesia. According to a 2003 study by the Population Council, an international research group, 96 percent of families surveyed reported that their daughters had undergone some form of circumcision by the time they reached 14. However, according to a 2006 report by the World Heath Organization, women who undergone the excision are significantly more likely to give birth by caesarean and the death rate is higher by 50 % for their children.

CARE is committed in the struggle against the female circumcision by lobbying actions close to policy and social makers but also by sensitisation campaigns close to the communities. For example in Mali, CARE participated to the financing of an international conference about genital mutilations in Bamako in 2006, organized by the government. At the end of the conference, Mali ratified the Maputo protocol by which the States commit to "prohibit by legislative measures, with punishment, every form of female circumcision".

About the CARE International Award for Humanitarian Report

At the initiative of CARE France, CARE’s award was first established in 1994 with the objective to pay a tribute to the photographers/reporters who bear testimony to humanitarian catastrophes that affect men, women and children all along the year. Within the context of the International Photojournalism Festival "Visa pour l’Image" – Perpignan, a press conference will take place on Thursday September 4 at 12:00 AM in the Palais des Congrès (the Convention Centre) in Perpignan. Also this evening Stephanie Sinclair will be awarded the 2008 CARE International Award for Humanitarian Reportage.

The jury is made up of professionals*, their selection faithfully reflects the vocation of the CARE International Award: to sensitize the people and the opinion leaders to neglected or concealed problems; to underline humanitarian values in the treatment of conflicts and the denunciation of extreme poverty; to symbolize the high points of the events in countries where CARE intervene; to award the photographers for a work of quality and to testify a reality.

The four entrants are:

- Agnes Dherbeys: Wat Prah Bat Nam Phu, Temple of dooms (Thailand)

- Suthep Kritsanavarin: Cyclone Nargis…life aftermath (Myanmar)

- Ariana Cubillos (Associated Press): Mud cookies to stop hungry (Haiti)

- Alixandra Fazzina (Trolley Books): A millions Shillings (Somalia)

Press contacts:

CARE France

Alexandra Banget-Mossaz – Communication Officer, Tel: 01.53.19.89.92 - E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sanofi-aventis research & development

Anne-Marie Menut – Communication Manager - Montpellier, Tel: 04.99.77.64.59 / 06.85.07.69.50 - E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it