Pathshala, the South Asian Institute Media Academy was originally set up in 1998 by the Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

 photographer, writer and activist Shahidul Alam

Shahidul Alam

' was born in 1955 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He studied and taught chemistry in London where he obtained a PhD from the University of London.He started photography in 1980 and was awarded the by the London Arts Council in 1983...

 http://shahidul.wordpress.com, as "Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography". The school was phenomenally successful despite its limited infrastructure. Student awards have included, 1st prize in World Press Photo Contest, The National Geographic All Roads Awards. Prix PIctet and a host of other awards. Several students have made it to the "PDN's 30" and other lists. It is affiliated to Sunderland University and Bolton University in the UK. Oslo University College

Oslo University College

Oslo University College , Norwegian: Høgskolen i Oslo is the largest state university college in Norway, with more than 11,000 students and approx. 1100 employees...

 in Norway, Edith Cowan University

Edith Cowan University

Edith Cowan University is located in Perth, Western Australia. It was named after the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Australian university named after a woman....

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 http://reachyourpotential.com.au/ecYou2/may08.htm and The Danish School of Journalism http://www.journalisthojskolen.dk/. It provides a bachelors degree in photography which is, however, not recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or National University http://www.newagebd.com/2009/sep/14/time.html. However, affiliation with the country's oldest university, Dhaka University, is currently under process.

Pathshala is the teaching wing of Drik Picture Library Ltd. http://www.drik.net The school has however received death threats by fundamentalists claiming photography is un-Islamic http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=70969. The school is now in its twelfth year. Students have won numerous accolades during this short period. http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/2008/ten_years_of_pathshala.htmlhttp://shahidul.wordpress.com/profile/munem-wasif-selected-for-masterclass/ Students have been active in social movements http://thechobimelafiles.blogspot.com/2006/11/tuesday-7-november-portfolios-at.html and have also organised exhibitions addressing social concerns at overseas events. http://www.worldbank.lk/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/SRILANKAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21465611~menuPK:232812~pagePK:2865066~piPK:2865079~theSitePK:233047,00.html

Building upon its reputation, Pathshala, after a series of consultations with international and local experts and local stakeholders, has now been set up as a media academy, to help strengthen other fields of media. http://www.shahidulnews.com/media-academy/ Two new faculties, broadcast journalism and multimedia journalism have been included. The media academy now trains and provides support to mainstream media.

Since 2007 Pathshala alumni, Munem Wasif, Andrew Biraj and Saiful Huq Omi, have been selected for the prestigious Joop Swart Masterclass run by World Press Photo Foundation. Pathshala alumni Khaled Hasan and Saiful Huq Omi have also won the National Geographic All Roads Awards, while alumni Munem Wasif received the Prix Pictet Commission on "Water".

Former student Hasib Zakaria is currently vice principal of Pathshala. A five year programme to develop a network of rural photojournalists, is currently underway. The World Press Photo Foundation in partnership with Drik Picture Library and Pathshala are implementing the programme.

Teachers at Pathshala

have included:
Robert Pledge http://www.contactpressimages.com/pledge_bio.html, Reza Deghati

Reza Deghati

Reza Deghati, born 1952 in Tabriz, Iran is an Iranian-French photojournalist, who works under the name Reza .-Biography:Reza has covered much of the globe for National Geographic Magazine. Several films about Reza's work have been produced by National Geographic Television, most notably Frontline...

, Ian Berry http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.PhotographerDetail_VPage&l1=0&pid=2K7O3R14RD59&nm=Ian%20Berry, Raghu Rai

Raghu Rai

Raghu Rai is an Indian photographer and photojournalist. A protege of Henri Cartier-Bresson who appointed Rai, then a young photojournalist to Magnum Photos in 1977, which he co-founded....

, Pablo Bartholomew http://www.netphotograph.com/pablo.html, Philip Blenkinsop http://www.noorimages.com/index.php?id=philipblenkinsop, Rob Mounfort http://www.lightstalkers.org/rob_mountfort, David Wells http://www.davidhwells.com/, David de Souza http://www.daviddesouza.com, Dominic Sansoni http://www.dominicsansoni.blogspot.com/, Nicola Robbers http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Robbers_Nicole_910618372.aspx, Louis Zaal http://www.hollandse-hoogte.nl/, Sasa Krajl, Rupert Grey http://www.swanturton.com/profiles/rupertgrey.aspx, John Kippin http://www.johnkippin.com/index9b53.html?nav=contemporary&page=2, Peter Fryer http://www.amber-online.com/people/22, Pedro Meyer http://www.pedromeyer.com/, Morten Krogvold http://www.mortenkrogvold.no/krogvold/contact.asp, Jack Picone http://www.jackpicone.com/, Jenny Matthews http://www.jennymphoto.com/, Tim Hetherington http://www.timhetherington.com/, Witold Krassowski http://www.lightstalkers.org/witold_krassowski, David Bathgate http://www.davidbathgate.com/bio/biograph.htm, Kirsten Claire, Eddie Bissel, Andrew Patrick and many others.

Videos

[Video commissioned by Pulitzer Foundation, produced by Brian Palmer]http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid933119013/bclid909923494/bctid1751349661.