Photo essays have proven their ability not only to document but actually change the course of human events. If that is the case, shouldn’t we be searching for the essential photo-essays of our time, the pictures that will spark public discourse and instigate the type of real-world reforms that engaged citizens in the past? What Matters, a new book edited by David Elliot Cohen, attempts to answer this question with eighteen important photo-essays by this generation’s preeminent photojournalists. These essays poignantly address the big issues of our time: climate change, oil addiction, the inequitable distribution of global wealth and other current problems. The book ends with “What You Can Do,” an appendix that offers hundreds of ways to be part of the solution to the compelling challenges we now face. Related Themes: environment, photography, social change

The All Roads Photographers Program of the National Geographic Society recognizes and supports talented photographic storytellers from around the world who are documenting their changing cultures and communities through photography. The program provides a forum for photographers to showcase their work to a global audience and presents the opportunity to engage and experience, firsthand, the voices of these artists as they talk about their photographs. Our forum will feature a panel discussion on documentary photography and democratic ideals. Is documentary photography inherently objectifying? Can comprehensive documentation be done through non-native eyes? Are there universal ethics in documentary work?

Related Themes: culture, media, photography

The National Geographic Society’s All Roads Photography Program recognizes and supports talented indigenous and underrepresented storytellers from around the world who are documenting their changing cultures and communities through photography. The program provides a forum for photographers to showcase their work to a global audience with the opportunity to engage and experience, firsthand, the unique and essential voices of these artists through exhibitions, public discussions and workshops. Related Themes: photography, story

The Aurora Forum hosts this unique conversation on the photographic work of Richard Avedon (1923–2004) and Gordon Parks (1912–2006) with art critics Andy Grundberg, Deborah Willis, and Wanda Corn. Related Themes: art, history, photography

The National Geographic Society’s All Roads Film Project recognizes and supports indigenous and underrepresented storytellers from around the world who are documenting their changing cultures and communities through photography and film. For the third consecutive year of this popular program, we present talented artists from Israel, Kashmir, Lapland, Mongolia, Nigeria, and the United States who have been selected by the National Geographic Society to present their work and reflect on ways their images and stories make connections that help create a more just and beautiful world. The All Roads photographers will be joined by Chris Rainier of the National Geographic Society and photographer Shahidul Alam, founder of the Drik photo agency in Bangladesh. Related Themes: photography

The Aurora Forum joins with Stanford Publishing Courses to present photographer Frans Lanting and his LIFE Project, a lyrical interpretation of the story of life on Earth that has been produced as a multimedia show for symphony orchestra with music by Philip Glass. For this evening’s photographic presentation, Lanting will be joined by his wife and partner, Christine Eckstrom, an editor, videographer, and former staff writer at National Geographic. For two decades, Frans and Chris have collaborated on fieldwork and publishing projects that have increased awareness of endangered ecological treasures. Related Themes: conservation, nature, photography