PRESS RELEASE Director Prince Claus Fund to head World Press Photo Foundation 1 February

11 November 2020 - Amsterdam Joumana El Zein Khoury will end her directorship at the Prince Claus Fund on 1 February 2021 to serve as Executive Director of the World Press Photo Foundation. Joumana has worked with the Prince Claus Fund for over 13 years, first coordinating its grants programmes and later serving as director since 2015. [Nederlands]

During her tenure as director, Joumana El Zein Khoury has established the Prince Claus Fund as an internationally renowned institution supporting culture under pressure. She has been crucial to strengthening the Prince Claus Fund’s capabilities. She oversaw efforts to support partners in particularly difficult circumstances, like photo journalist and Time Person of the Year Shahidul Alam who was unjustly jailed in 2017. After the explosions in Beirut in August, under her leadership the Prince Claus Fund spearheaded emergency efforts to provide support to artists and cultural institutions and raised 300.000 euros with five other funding organisations in record time.

A future-proof organisation

Joumana was also instrumental to the creation of the new organisation-wide strategy that focuses the work of the Fund through a sequence of reimagined Prince Claus Awards. Director Joumana El Zein Khoury: “I’ve dedicated over a decade of my life to building a strong, vibrant Prince Claus Fund. I am so grateful for these years of experience, and the opportunity to celebrate and support exceptional people in culture from all over the world. It’s been a privilege to lead the Prince Claus Fund to become what it is today: confident, strong, financially solid, and future-proof. At this stage, it feels like the natural next step for me to take on a different challenge. I will miss the Prince Claus Fund greatly but have full confidence in its future success.”

A director with “boundless commitment”
Ila Kasem, Chair of the Board of the Prince Claus Fund: “Joumana has demonstrated her boundless commitment to the Prince Claus Fund these past years. She has created new fundraising opportunities by growing its circle of major donors known as Torchbearers and securing significant additional funding from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has built lasting connections for the organisation, and given the Fund a solid foundation for the years to come. She leaves us with a great sense of optimism for the future. The board and the organisation as a whole will miss her greatly.”

Until her departure on 1 February, Joumana will participate in the 2020 Prince Claus Awards online ceremony and assist with the transition to her successor. The Board is currently in the process of seeking her replacement.

NOTE FOR THE EDITORS

For more information, please contact:

Martine Willekens, Prince Claus Fund PR Manager

[email protected] +31.65.36.0043

The Prince Claus Fund supports, connects, and celebrates artists and cultural practitioners where culture is under pressure. https://princeclausfund.org