World Press Photo is an independent non-profit organisation with its office in Amsterdam, where World Press Photo was founded in 1955.
The Amsterdam office acts as the hub for a network of professional contacts worldwide.
World Press Photo is known for organizing the world's largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest.
The organisation is also concerned with stimulating developments in photojournalism and encouraging knowledge exchange.

Funding
World Press Photo has two corporate sponsors worldwide - Canon and TNT - and receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery. The mix in sources of financing helps guarantee the organisation's independence.

About the contest
The annual World Press Photo Contest offers an overview of how press photographers work worldwide and how the press presents the news, bringing together pictures from all parts of the globe to reflect trends and developments in photojournalism.
The contest is open to all professional press photographers. There is no entry fee.
Not only photographers, but also photo agencies, newspapers and magazines from anywhere in the world are invited to submit their best news-related pictures from the previous year. Both single images and photo stories are eligible. The results are published on the World Press Photo website.

About the exhibition
The annual exhibition is officially opened in Amsterdam as part of the award ceremony in April and can be seen at venues around the globe until March of the next year.

Joop Swart Masterclass
The goal of the Joop Swart Masterclass is to bring some of the most experienced individuals in photojournalism into contact with twelve young, promising photographers, to share their knowledge and experience.

Educational programs
Education and training are core objectives of the World Press Photo foundation, in line with the organisation's mission to promote the highest standards in photojournalism and to encourage international understanding through the medium.

Publishing
Aware of the difficult market for photography books, the organisation also has a mission to release unique work that might otherwise struggle to find a publisher.

Chairman of the organisation is Pieter Broertjes, editor-in-chief of Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant.