World Press Photo awards celebrate 2022′s best photographs from around the globe

Shiren Abu Akleh's funeral. Israeli police beat mourners accompanying the coffin of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to her funeral, in East Jerusalem. Police prohibited people from carrying the coffin on foot through the city, as mourners chanted “We sacrifice our soul and blood for you, Shireen.” Photo / Maya Levin/World Press Photo

For nearly 70 years the World Press Photo awards have been regarded as one of the high marks of achievement in photojournalism and documentary photography, celebrating the best in the business over the preceding year.

2022 marked a change, with the World Press Photo Foundation launching a regional strategy to better recognise the efforts and achievements of photographers who sometimes put their lives on the line to bring the most compelling stories to their global audience.

Twenty-four winners and six honourable mentions were selected from over 60,000 entries from 3753 photographers across 127 countries.

The stories they covered included the front lines of conflict, culture, identity, migration and the environment, bringing some of the most pressing issues facing the world today to discerning viewers.

Image 1 of 18: North and Central America, singles winner - The Dying River. A substantial decrease in flow of the Colorado River now requires these workers to provide water for the bees in troughs. Heat and drought weakens bees, making them more susceptible to pathogens and parasites, and impacts the plants from which they feed. Between 2019 and 2020, colonies of bees – vital for pollinating crops – declined by 43.7 per cent across the US. Photo / Jonas Kako/World Press Photo

From the devastating documentation of the war in Ukraine and historic protests in Iran, to the realities in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and the many faces of the climate crisis, these images remind us that humanity faces serious problems that must be faced. They also remind us the world is a beautifully varied place that should be celebrated in all its shapes, colours, names and beliefs.

“The photographs that we have chosen to represent 2022 are indicative of this moment in time, and will serve as historical documents of what the year was like for future generations to look back on and hopefully learn from,” said 2023 jury chairman Brent Lewis on the release of the Regional Awards.

The gallery featured here represents a selection from the regional award winners. The four global winners – the World Press Photo of the Year, World Press Photo Story of the Year, World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award and the World Press Photo Open Format Award - will be announced in late April.

See more at worldpressphoto.org