About the VII Academy

The strategy of the VII Academy is to promote, teach, and foster high-quality international journalism in the majority world and underrepresented communities in G20 countries.

We do this by providing tuition-free education to emerging professionals and students from these communities in media practice, visual journalism, narrative, ethics, business, and entrepreneurship, thereby enabling in the long term a culture whereby the information narrative is democratized.

The VII Academy is the education 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. The VII Foundation is an independent, charitable media and education non-profit organization. It was founded by Ron Haviv and Gary Knight in 2001 when they recognized that media funding for long term projects was diminishing. In order to continue to produce work that addressed complex social, economic and human rights issues they started the VII Foundation as an independent non-profit structure to secure support for continuing documentary practice and education.

With campuses in two strategic locations, the VII Academy offers the highest standard of education in photography, journalism ethics, business practice, and real-world training. Through scholarships to established programs, on-campus seminars and workshops, and events like 2019’s “VII in Sarajevo: Festival of the Image,” the VII Academy is creating a valuable mentorship network between seasoned veterans and talented and committed young photographers.

Directors

Gary Knight

Director

Gary is co-founder and principle architect of the VII Photo Agency. Gary is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Frontline Club, London; co-founder of The GroundTruth Project, Boston; founding Director of the Program for Narrative & Documentary Practice at the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University, twice Chair and President of the World Press Photo Award; was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2009, a Logan Non Fiction Fellow at the Carey Institute in 2017 and is a photographer.

www.garyknight.org

Ron Haviv

Director

Ron Haviv is co-founder of the VII Photo Agency. He has dedicated his career to documenting conflict and raising awareness about human rights issues around the globe. In the last three decades, Haviv has covered more than twenty-five conflicts and worked in over one hundred countries. He has published four critically acclaimed collections of photography. His work, which has won numerous awards has been featured in museums and galleries worldwide.

www.ronhaviv.com

Andrew Turner

COO

Andrew Turner has extensive international experience across different industries from FMCG to Biotech. After working for Whirlpool Corp and launching the iconic KitchenAid brand in to Europe and Asia, he spent twelve years with DeLaval on their executive board. Currently, he serves in an advisory capacity to a number of companies, supporting start up and small cap companies to develop strategies for growth and success.