ATHENS — It’s an indelible, haunting image. A Syrian refugee, wearing a makeshift cape made of garbage bags draped over his shoulders like a superhero, gives his daughter a kiss as he carries her through the rain.

Yannis Behrakis, author of one of the most iconic photos of the European refugee crisis is no longer with us, but he’s left an important legacy for the field of photojournalism.

Athens Photo World (APW) builds upon this legacy. Though this year’s APW festival has been postponed to May 2021 because of the pandemic, the 2020 APW photo contests were able to go ahead as scheduled. Among hundreds of captivating submissions for the 2020 Yannis Behrakis International Photojournalism Award and the Athens Photo World 2020 Award, the judging committee selected six finalists, three for each prize.

This year’s winners will be announced at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) on Saturday, September 26, at 19:00 (GMT+3). The event will present the work of the six photographers and will be broadcast live at www.snfcc.org, as well as on the social media channels of the SNFCC and APW.

Athens Photo World is made possible by an exclusive grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and is organized in collaboration with a multitude of institutions, including the SNFCC.