An exhibition featuring a selection of award winning photographs from the international news photography competition "Istanbul Photo Awards 2021" opened Monday in Turkey's capital Ankara.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Anadolu Agency (AA) Chairperson of the Board and Director-General Serdar Karagöz began his speech with the sound of an intensive care unit to mark the story of the winning photo from Bangladesh. "Mahmuda, 44, who is in quarantine, is trying to smell the birthday flowers left by her daughter from the other side of the door," Karagöz said.

He said the coronavirus pandemic, which affected everyone's lives, broke up many families, caused social isolation and also affected many of the participants' perspectives.

Karagöz emphasized the significance of photojournalism by saying, "A hundred years from now, the photograph will make people feel the same things."

On the fact that photographers won awards for their work in war, conflict and disaster zones such as Azerbaijan, Syria and Lebanon, he said photography has no borders.

Next week, the exhibition will take place in New York, he said, and hoped that it would also be organized in Japan and the other parts of the world if pandemic conditions allow.

Best shots of 2020

For the exhibition, a selection of 74 photographs covering major events around the world over the past year will be on display at the CerModern Arts Center until Oct. 24.

They include entries and winners of the news photography category of the awards, ranging from snapshots of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on human life to disasters such as the August 2020 Beirut port blast.

The seventh edition of the awards and the exhibition are both organized by AA. National flag carrier Turkish Airlines and state-run aid group Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) were the official partners for the awards, which saw some 15,000 entries and 14 eventual winners from 12 countries.

A Bangladeshi independent photographer, Mohammed Shajahan's photo titled "Mom Love" won the Photo of the Year Award.

The international jury of nine, including photojournalists and a visual storyteller, decide the winners every year.

More information about the awards and the winning photos can be found on the event's website.