/ 2021 / Portraiture / Culture

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Mauro De Bettio, Spain
• Date of Photograph
  14/10/19
• Studio
  Mauro De Bettio
• Website
  https://www.maurodebettio.com
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/mauro_de_bettio/

Bena people are an ethnic group in Ethiopia historically related to ancient Egypt.⁠ Just like most of the indigenous tribes in the lower Omo Valley, the Bena practice ritual dancing and singing and they live in continuous contact with the earth.⁠⠀ In this picture Dobi, that like most natives doesn’t know her age, is standing proudly among the thin stems of her sorghum plantation, a very important crop, used for food and especially for the production of home brewed beer.⁠

Mauro De Bettio is an internationally recognized photographer and storyteller capturing the heart of remote and complex worlds. His work documents acid attack survivors in Bangladesh, Manila’s prisons, life in Afghanistan, the dreams of African slum ballerinas, and Asia’s largest sex worker communities. In 2021, he founded the Malaika Foundation to support food, healthcare, and opportunities for brighter futures, giving voice to the voiceless.

Awards 2025 - Overall Winner Our Nature Photo Awards

2025 - Photographer Of The Year 1839 Awards - Storytelling category

2025 - 1st Prize Winner Istanbul Photo Awards - Single Portrait

2025 - Winner Travel Photographer of the Year: The People’s Choice Award

2024 - Winner Prix de la Photographie Paris

2024 - Winner World Water Day Photo Contest

2023 - Winner Prix de la Photographie Paris

2022 - Overall Winner American Photography Open

2022 - Overall Winner FIIPA

2021 - ND Photographer of the Year

2021 - Winner URBAN Photo Award

2020 - Winner Portrait of Humanity

2020 - Overall Winner AAP

2018 - Winner Malta International Photo Award

2018 - Winner National Geographic Italy

2018 - Winner American Photography Open

2018 - Winner LENSCULTURE Portrait Awards