Ratko Mladic in court

BBC's John Simpson: Mladic had reputation for being 'ruthlessly efficient". Those words says it all. Finally former General Mladic faces court. Over the last two years I have been going to Srebrenica and tried to somehow understand a little bit of how life is there 16 or 17 years after the worst genocide in post 2nd world war Europe. Above is an image of a participant of the peace march that takes place every year honoring the 8000 men and boys who were efficiently killed in July 1995. Later on this summer I will have an exhibition in London at the Host gallery- the home of photo reportage. The opening will be on August 29th and it will be on until September 16th. More info to come...

Nestlé Health and Sciences

In January, NHS invited to a global conference in Vevey Switzerland. It gave me an opportunity to photograph a group of a 100 people as well as photograph in a magnificent dinner room at the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne. Speakers at the conference were Luis Cantarell, President and CEO at Nestlé Health and Sciences, Patrick Aebischer, the President of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and André Borschberg businessman and pilot. He is a co-founder of the Solar Impulse project. 

All 100 Participants of the first ever NHS Conference January 2012

 André Borschberg, Co founder of the Solar Impulse Project

Patrick Aebischer President of EPFL in Lausanne

Luis Cantarell, President and CEO of NHS

Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne

George- a former Dutch Bat

In early January 2012, I met up with George Pfrommer in Holland. We met during my last trip to Srebrenica where he showed me around the former Dutch bat HQ in Potocari. On this occasion, I got to see many of his own photographs as well as scrapbooks from his time serving for the Dutch battalion in 1994.

George Pfrommer photographed in a scrap book from 1994.

George Pfrommer ex Dutch Bat Nijmegen

Update July 2017: 'Devils Bar' is located inside the Potocari Memorial factory. It used to be the bar area for the Dutch soldiers during the war. This was a car battery factory in the Yugoslav time and the UN head quarters during teh war in Bosnia. Today, much of the buildings are left the way they were during the war. However, some work has started repairing parts of the buildings as they are starting to deteriorate too much. George Pfrommer, a former Dutch Bat, painted the 'Café' painting as seen inside the bar. http://ks-imaging.blogspot.ba/p/srebrenica-bosnia.html

#bosnia #srebrenica #genocide #storytelling #marsmira #humanrights #photojournalism #documentary #potocari #ReportageSpotlight #nikonswitzerland #webster #keystoneag

Synthon video

Have a look at the video we made for Synthon in relationship to their 20th Anniversary!

Synthon from Kristian Skeie on Vimeo.

Two new members at the Appellate Body at the WTO

The other day there was a change in the Appellate Body at the WTO. Mr Ujal Singh Bhatia and Mr Thomas R. Graham begin a four-year term as members. I had the pleasure to shoot the event.

The Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body, Ambassador
Elin Østebø Johansen, and Director-General Pascal Lamy

Swearing-in Ceremony

Messrs Ujal Singh Bhatia

Thomas R. Graham

Swearing-in Ceremony

TEDxRC²

I was happy to work at the TEDxRC² event in Geneva on Sunday. This was an independent TED event organised with the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Topic was Multiplying the power of humanity and amongst the speakers were Norwegian minister of foreign affairs Jonas Gahr Støre and music from Senegal's Seckou Keita. I was working for Nestlé which was one of the sponsors of the event.

Nestlé needed 66 people to walk 66 meter on the treadmill,
they would sponsor a 66th water pump in Ivory Coast. They did it!

Seckou Keita doing his bit to support water pump building!

Jonas Gahr Støre talking to journalists. 

Paris Photo 2011

Paris Photo @ Grand Palais

Every second weekend of November is when photographers and anyone interested in photography invade Paris. It is the worlds biggest fair for photography sales. If you are not buying photography, you get to see some amazing photography amongst the more then 100 galleries from around the world represented here. I've just arrived and can't wait to go and see the exhibits tomorrow! As Champs-Élysées was closed at mid day today, it made for some interesting "street photography"...

Champs-Élysées

Day 2 update:

Well, the show was great! 

Entrance

"Africa" was this years topic

Lots of people, lots of photography

Allminds London workshop

I was in London last week having a workshop for Allminds (www.allminds.ch). Part of the workshop was photographing the magician Christopher Howell (www.projectillusions.com & www.christopherhowell.net). His new act, containing three oranges (?!?) is absolutely fantastic! I will not describe it as it would not make justice to the act! You better book him and see it for yourself...

Illusionist Christopher Howell

St. Paul's Cathedral 

London from café at Tate Modern

Synthon Barcelona

I visited Synthon's Barcelona facility this week. It is a very interesting site; it has state of the art manufacturing and packaging as well as great research facilities.

Bosnia & Srebrenica

The project I am working on in Bosnia continues. This time we met with several interesting people including George from Holland who served as a peace keeping soldier in Srebrenica in 1994, Hasan Hasanovic, the creator at the Potocari memorial centre and Hasan Nuhanovic who is suing the Dutch forces from the period they worked as peace keepers in the area around Srebrenica. Students from Webster University in Geneva came along on this trip. 

Visiting the Department of Genocide at 

the University of Sarajevo.

Aladin giving us a guided tour of Sarajevo. 

Hasan Nuhanovic talking about his experience during the 

July 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. 

Visiting the Body Identification Centre in Tuzla.

Visiting the primary school in Srebrenica. Interestingly enough, 

this painting from 1987 of the town shows the orthodox church 

but fails to show the two (2) mosques. Not sure why.

Conversation with Hasan Hasanovic,
Curator at the Potocari Memorial Center.

The memorial cemetery in Potocari. 

It is always special to see the time of death 

being the same everywhere.. July 1995.

We invited some of the surviving women from the organisation 

"mothers of Srebrenica" for lunch.

We visited the former Head Quarters of 

the Dutch Bat in Potocari. 

George Pfrommer served as a peace keeping UN soldier for the

 Dutch Bat in 1994. The graffiti displaying the Harley Davidson

 logo was made by his friend. 

Mars Mira 2011- Peace March Tuzla- Srebrenica

Mladic has been caught. With the Serbian capture of Srebrenica in July 1995, the biggest genocide post Second World War unfolded in Bosnia. More then 8000 men and boys were systematically killed in only a few days. To mark the anniversary of this event, a peace march takes place over three days between the towns of Tuzla and Srebrenica. The walk is about 110 km and goes through a rather hilly district in Bosnia Herzegovina in pretty much extreme summer temperatures (We had 42 degrees Celsius this year!). in 1995 men and boys walked this route in order to escape the slaughter. After the three days of walking, the coffins of the identified bodies from this year are carried out to the memorial cemetery at Potocari for a memorial funeral that takes place on the 11th of every July. This year 613 bodies were laid to rest. I took part this year and spoke to many interesting people who had many incredible stories to tell. The work to make this into a story has only just begun, but here are some samples:

Walking through villages

Exhaustion after one long day of walking (about 42km)

Evening prayers

Ready for a new day

People arriving at the Potočari memorial cemetery

613 coffins being carried out

Mourning their loved once

Synthon turns 20 years

The other day I visited Synthon's head offices in Nijmegen (www.synthon.com). The company turns 20 years old this year and celebrates by opening a new massive Bio tech laboratory. The evening was spent celebrating with everybody at a boat party!

The new Bio tech laboratory in Nijmegen, Holland

CEO Rudy Mareel

The new Bio tech laboratory in Nijmegen, Holland

Klaus Kuchen, CEO Synthon Mexico
 

Dr. JacquesLemmens at Synthon's 20 year party 

Synthon celebrating 20 years