The aggressive Russian stances towards the Baltic States — former
Soviet properties that are now members of both NATO and the
European Union — and the military activity within the bordering
Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, has recently prompted the Lithuanian
army to resume military conscription. The ultimate goal is building an
operational self-defence force if a Russian aggression becomes reality.
Lithuania will recruit and train military personnel for the next five years
starting in September 2015, enlisting 3,000 people, aged 19 to 27. The
great majority of them -about 2,600 recruits- have joined voluntarily.
Mattia Vacca is a freelance photojournalist and a documentary photographer.
For ten years, he was a daily contributor for Corriere della Sera covering breaking news stories in Northern Italy.
He is currently working on various personal projects focused on social issues and the consequences of armed conflicts around the world.
He is the founder of the independent publishing house Delicious Editions.
In 2018 he joins Prospekt Agency.
His work has been featured on New Republic, Wired, The Guardian, Die Zeit, BBC, Vice, among the others.
He received numerous awards including Sony WPO.
Awards 2018 Lugano PhotoDays First prize / Switzerland
2018 Photovisa Photojournalism Awards, Finalist / Russia
2018 Il Reportage Photojournalism Awards, Finalist / Italy
2018 Royal Photographic Society Awards, Finalist / United Kingdom
2018 Istanbul Photobook Festival, Two Books selected for the PhotoBook Show / Turkey
2018 Scan Tarragona Photo Festival, selected for the PhotoBook Show / Pourtugal
2018 Athens Photo Festival, selected for the PhotoBook Show / Greece
2018 Athens Photo Festival, Finalist / Greece
2018 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards, Finalist category Reportage / Georgia
2018 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards, Finalist category Mobile PhotoStory / Georgia
2018 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards, Finalist category Mobile OneShot / Georgia
2018 Balkan Photo Awards, First prize category Nature and environment / Bosnia
2018 Balkan Photo Awards, Shortlisted category Cultural Heritage / Bosnia
2018 Odesa/Batumi PhotoFestival two works selected for the night screenings / Georgia
2018 Indian PhotoFestival selected for exhibition / India
2018 Reclaim Photography Festival, Selected / United Kingdom
2018 J Photobooks Show, Cork Photo Festival, Two Books selected / Ireland
2017 Photogrvphy Grant, Nominee category Photojournalism / USA
2017 Felix Schoeller Photo Awards, Finalist category Portraits / Germany
2017 Balkan Photo Awards, First prize category Cultural Heritage / Bosnia
2017 Premio Vergani, First prize category Web Doc / Italy
2017 Phodar Biennial, Finalist / Bulgaria
2017 IPOTY - International Photographer of the Year Awards, Honorable Mention category Documentary / USA
2017 IPOTY - International Photographer of the Year Awards, Honorable Mention category Photo Essay / USA
2017 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards, Finalist category OneShot / Georgia
2017 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards, Finalist category Mobile OneShot / Georgia
2017 Kolga Tbilisi Photo Awards, Finalist category OneShot / Georgia
