Endorsements

“My camera is a means to making human connections and telling human stories, a simple tool to help me break down the walls between Us and Them. The IGVP holds at its heart a desire to make peace, to foster understanding, and to tell untold stories.”  David duChemin, world and humanitarian photographer, international workshop leader and author of Within the Frame and Visionmongers. 

 

“I don’t want to be misunderstood, racially profiled or stereotyped. I know that my culture often is. I want to change that. And I want to change that for others who experience the same injustice through the new world of images. That’s why I’m involved with IGVP.”  Abdel Azim Elsiddig, PhD, Co-Founder, Bridges Program, Co-Founder, North American Imams Federation, & Professor of Islamic Law-Islamic American University-Chicago

 

“IGVP is a cause worth shouting about. Taking on the status quo of media messages filled with images of war, hate, and despair and saying loudly, “It’s not all like that!” IGVP is taking a visual stand and showing people we have much more in common than we think."  Matt Brandon, photographer and international workshop instructor, Matt’s images have been used by the BBC, Honda Motor Corporation, and Bombadier Transport Corporation and others. His photographic pursuits have taken him to India, Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives, Philippines and Malaysia. 

 

“I am delighted to join a network of visual communicators committed to the values that animate restorative justice:  respect, responsibility, relationships, humility – and wonder.”  Dr. Howard Zehr, photographer, writer & professor of restorative justice, Center for Justice & Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University, Virginia.

 

In the Guild, we want… “to get past mere headlines to try to get a truer sense of who we all are. Perhaps now, more than ever, is the need to get beyond the stereotypes and dramatic images and instead allow people to tell their own stories in a humanistic way.”  Ami Vitale’s photographs have been published in major international magazines such as National Geographic, Adventure, Geo, Newsweek, Time, and Smithsonian.

 

“As believers we have been commanded to glorify our Creator by appreciating the beauty in His creation around us. The diversity of colors, races, languages and shapes in His creation is a purposeful manifestoin of His design. We need to train ourselves to look at the variety and diversity in the creation as an expression of His ultimate beauty and craftsmanship” (Quran  23:14,  30:23).
 
“I am pleased that the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers (IGVP) are providing that vision of human diversity around the globe and helping us to appreciate God’s hand at work behind this diversity. I send my best wishes for the success of this movement and hope they will reinforce mutual respect, understanding and dialogue between divergent communities and cultures.”  Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director, Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances, & Islamic Society of North America