Gold in Press/People/Personality / 2024 / Press / People/Personality

• Prize
  Gold in Press/People/Personality
• Photographer
  Mauro De Bettio, Spain
• Date of Photograph
  02/10/2023
• Studio
  Mauro De Bettio
• Website
  https://www.maurodebettio.com
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/mauro_de_bettio/

Makoko, the world's largest floating slum with over 300 thousand residents, faces severe challenges like a lack of infrastructure and essential services. Situated in Lagos, Africa's largest economic hub, Makoko's stilt houses serve as both homes and the sewage system for the city's 20 million inhabitants. The community also grapples with poverty, limited education, and healthcare disparities, compounded by complex issues of land tenure and government recognition.

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