All publishing profits to fund AIDS education in Africa

Introduction by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — On February 28, 2002, one hundred of the world’s foremost photojournalists, representing 18 countries, will take part in one of the most ambitious photographic projects ever attempted: They will fan out across 53 nations to capture the entire African continent on a single day. The best images will be included in A Day in the Life of Africa, a book, website, and traveling exhibition that will represent the most wide-ranging look at Africa ever assembled. All publishing profits from the book will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa.

“This project is a celebration of African life that will actually save African lives,” says Project Director David Cohen. “More than 25 million African men, women, and children are HIV positive, and every minute two more are infected.” Cohen, who has directed 11 “Day in the Life” titles, commented that “we’ve produced these projects for 20 years, chronicling cultures around the world. The subject of this book is not AIDS — it’s the richness of African culture — but our goal for the project is to raise global awareness of a continent at risk.” The project is being produced by Lee Liberman, who also chairs The Day in the Life of Africa AIDS Education Fund.

The photographers will assemble at project headquarters in Paris, France before they are dispatched to their assignments on the African continent. The diverse photo team will include more than a dozen Pulitzer Prize- and World Press Photo winners as well as 20 members of the famed Magnum and VII photo agencies. More than 20 African and African-American photographers will participate, providing a crucial perspective on the continent. The entire 100-person photography team will be outfitted with Olympus E20 and C4040 digital cameras, marking the first time the highly successful “Day in the Life” series will utilize digital cameras.

From Cairo to the Cape of Good Hope, the African continent is home to a billion people, from more than 800 distinct ethnic groups. The breathtaking variety and startling contrasts will make A Day in the Life of Africa the most compelling visual document of 2002. The photographers will be dispatched to locations ranging from Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge to the teeming bazaars of Dakar; from the Congo Basin’s verdant jungles to the stark Saharan wastes, to a packed soccer stadium in Accra. With access to homes, schools, and workplaces across the continent, they will create a rich tapestry of African life as it is lived on one day. Only the best pictures — approximately 250 images from a pool of 50,000 or more — will be included in A Day in the Life of Africa.

For two decades, the best-selling “Day in the Life” photography books have recorded cultures around the world. Thirteen titles — including volumes on America, China, Russia, and Japan — have collectively sold 2.5 million copies.

A Day in the Life of Africa will be published in the United States and Canada on November 1, 2002, through Publishers Group West, North America’s largest independent book distributor, and in Francophone countries through the Editions Filipacchi division of Hachette Filipacchi. The book will also be published in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Australia. A Day in the Life of Africa will include an introduction by Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

All publishing profits will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa. Programs will be selected in concert with The Harvard AIDS Institute, South Africa’s renowned Soul City Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. Funds will be administered by the Tides Foundation.

Crucial support for A Day in the Life of Africa is provided by Lexar Media, The World Bank Group, Eskom, South African Airways and Air France.

Additional support is provided by RFI-Radio France Internationale.

Venture funding was provided by LJCB Investments of Melbourne, Australia.

“A Day in the Life®” is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers, and it is used with their generous permission.

100 des plus cÈlËbres photojournalistes se rassemblent ý

Paris pour prÈparer A Day in the Life of Africa

PARIS - Le 23 fÈvrier 2002, 100 des plus cÈlËbres photojournalistes du monde, reprÈsentant 20 pays, se retrouveront ý l’hÙtel MÈridien Montparnasse pour recevoir leur ordre de mission et leur Èquipement digital avant la journÈe historique en Afrique. Le 28 fÈvrier 2002, ils photographieront l’ensemble du continent africain - 53 pays.

Les meilleures photos seront publiÈes dans A Day in the Life of Africa, un livre, un site internet et une exposition itinÈrante qui reprÈsentera la vision la plus large jamais rassemblÈe sur l’Afrique. Ces photos seront dÈvoilÈes en novembre 2002 et toutes les recettes de l’Èdition seront reversÈes ý des programmes de lutte contre le SIDA en Afrique.

Les crÈateurs du projet sont David Cohen de San Francisco (Californie) et Lee Liberman de Melbourne (Australie). David dirige la sÈrie des livres “Day in the Life…” depuis 20 ans et a publiÈ 11 titres, dont A Day in the Life of America, China, Russia et Japan. Lee est la rÈalisatrice du projet et dirige le Fonds de prÈvention du SIDA de A Day in the Life of Africa.

L’Èquipe de 100 photographes comprend plus d’une dizaine de gagnants des prix Pulitzer et World Press Photo, 16 membres des cÈlËbres agences Magnum et VII, et 20 photographes africains et afro-AmÈricains. Tous recevront des appareils photo Olympus E20 et C4040.
Les photographes partiront de Paris le 24 fÈvrier et, une fois sur place en Afrique, ils mÈmoriseront tout, depuis les hommes de la brousse du Bostwana jusqu’ý de Lagos, haut lieux de la musique branchÈe. Ils vogueront sur la riviËre Congo, pÈnËtreront dans les grottes sacrÈes utilisÈes par les guÈrisseurs traditionnels du Sotho, ou dans un hammam pour femmes au Maroc. Ils rencontreront les gorilles des montagnes du Rwanda et visiteront un studio de cinÈma au Caire. En entrant dans les maisons, les Ècoles ou les bureaux, ils reflËteront la mosaÔque des peuples et des pays de ce continent.
A Day in the Life of Africa sera publiÈ dans les pays francophones par les Èditions Filipacchi, division de Hachette Filipacchi et aux Etats-Unis par Publishers Group West, le plus grand distributeur indÈpendent d’AmÈrique du Nord. Le livre sera aussi publiÈ en Afrique du Sud, en Allemagne, au Royaume-Uni et en Australie.
Les programmes de luttes contre le SIDA en Afrique seront sÈlectionnÈs en accord avec l’institut du Sida de Harvard, la fameuse Fondation Soul City d’Afrique du Sud et le centre de communications de l’universitÈ Johns Hopkins. Le fonds sera administrÈ par la Foundation Tides.

Notre partenaire technologique est Apple.

Notre partenaire hÙtelier est Le MÈridien.

Un soutien essentiel pour A Day in the Life of Africa est apportÈ par Lexar Media, La Banque Mondiale, Eskom, South African Airways et Air France.

Un soutien additionnel est apportÈ par RFI-Radio France Internationale, Minds@Work et Paris Match.

Le Financement commercial a ÈtÈ regroupÈ par LJCB Investments de Melbourne, Australie.

” A Day in the Life Æ” est une marque dÈposÈe de HarperCollins Publishers et est utilisÈe avec leur gÈnÈreuse permission.

###

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SAN FRANCISCO - After a six-year hiatus, the best-selling photo book series in history is making a comeback. A Day in the Life of Africa, the 14th book in the series that began more than 20 years ago, will be released in October, 2002. For the first time in the Day in the Life series, which included New York Times bestsellers A Day in the Life of America, and A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union, all publishing profits will go to charity - supporting AIDS education programs in Africa.

On February 28, 2002, nearly 100 of the world’s top photojournalists traveled throughout Africa - a continent of 53 countries - and documented the diversity of its people, geography, and customs. In this 24-hour journey, the photographers captured the teeming markets of Marrakesh, bustling Congo riverboats, and sacred ceremonies in Kenya. They documented the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, a sultan’s court in Niger, the hip Lagos music scene, and the quiet dignity of a Zambian AIDS hospice. With access to homes, schools, and workplaces across the continent, they created a rich tapestry of African life as it is lived on one day.

The project was directed by Day in the Life veteran David Cohen of San Francisco, who has directed eleven titles in the series, and produced by Lee Liberman of Melbourne, Australia. “When African countries are portrayed in the media, they are usually represented by images of famine and war,” commented Cohen, “We asked the photographers to show Africa as a place of hope.”

Cohen and Liberman, who last teamed up 8 years ago on A Day in the Life of Israel decided it was time to raise global awareness of Africa, where more than 25 million men, women and children are HIV positive. All publishing profits will go to AIDS education programs in Africa.

The book includes 250 color and black and white photos, an introduction by Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations and a foreword by Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. To coincide with book publication, project underwriter Pfizer is launching “A Day in the Life of Africa” photo exhibition at New York’s Grand Central Station, on October 22, 2002. In addition, BMG is releasing “A Day in the Life of Africa” music CD, and prints from the project will be available from Pictopia.com. A DVD documentary on the project is being created by @radical media.

A Day in the Life of Africa, will be published in the United States and Canada through the Tides Foundation and distributed by Publishers Group West, North America’s largest independent book distributor. The Editions Filipacchi division of Hachette Filipacchi will publish the book in Francophone countries. The book will also be published in South Africa, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

All publishing profits will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa. Programs will be selected in concert with The Harvard AIDS Institute, South Africa’s renowned Soul City Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. Funds will be administered by the Tides Foundation.

A Day in the Life of Africa is underwritten with generous grants from Pfizer, Olympus, Anheuser-Busch and ChevronTexaco. Our technology partner is Apple. Our hotel partner is Le Meridien. Our music partner is BMG Entertainment. Venture funding provided by LJCB Investment Group.

Important support for A Day in the Life of Africa was provided by LexarMedia, The World Bank Group, Eskom, Pictopia.com, Publishers Group West, @radical.media, Pictopia and South African Airways

Additional support is provided by Air France, Minds@Work, Rush Labo, RFI-Radio France Internationale, Blue Pixel, GretagMacbeth, DUGGAL Visual Solutions, NY, Palm Pictures llc, Putumayo World Music and nik multimedia.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AFRICA

• Directed by David Cohen, produced by Lee Liberman
• 288 pages,; 250 color and black and white photos
• 10 1/4″ x 12 1/2″ verticle, shrinkwrapped
• Suggested retail price: $50.00 ($69.95 Canada)
• ISBN 0-9718021-0-6
• Publication date: October 30, 2002
• Published by Tides Foundation distributed by Publishers Group West

“A Day in the Life” is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers, and it is used with their generous permission.

–>

All Publishing Profits to go to AIDS Education

NEW YORK - After a six-year hiatus, the best-selling photo book series in
history is making a comeback. A Day in the Life of Africa, the 14th book
in the series that began more than 20 years ago, and included “A Day in the
Life of America” and “A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union” (both New
York Times bestsellers) will be released this fall. For the first time in
the “Day in the Life” series, all publishing profits will go to charity –
supporting AIDS education programs in Africa.

On February 28, 2002, 100 of the world’s top photojournalists documented
the continent of Africa — 53 countries — on a single day. In this 24-hour
journey, the photographers captured the teeming markets of Marrakesh,
bustling Congo riverboats, and sacred ceremonies in Kenya. They documented
the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, a sultan’s court in Niger, the hip Lagos
music scene, and the quiet dignity of a Zambian AIDS hospice. With access to
homes, schools, and workplaces across the continent, they have created a
rich tapestry of African life as it is lived on one day.

The project was directed by “Day in the Life” veteran David Cohen of San
Francisco, California, who has directed eleven titles in the series, and
produced by Lee Liberman of Melbourne, Australia. Cohen and Liberman, who
last teamed up eight years ago on “A Day in the Life of Israel,” decided it
was time to raise global awareness of Africa, where more than 25 million
men, women, and children are HIV positive. “This is a project about Africa
that will save African lives” commented Liberman, who is directing the
project’s AIDS Education Fund.

“One of our goals is to dispel the stereotypical notion that Africa is all
famine and war,” commented Cohen. “We asked the photographers to show that
Africa is a place of hope, and at the same time, raise money for AIDS
education in Africa.”

This historic collection of photos, to be published on October 30, 2002,
will include an introduction by Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela and a
foreword by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations. One of the
project’s underwriters, Pfizer, will launch A Day in the Life of Africa
photo exhibition at Grand Central Station, New York, on October 21, 2002. In
addition, BMG is releasing A Day in the Life of Africa
music CD, and prints from the project will be available from Pictopia.

A Day in the Life of Africa will be published in the United States and
Canada through the Tides Foundation and distributed by
Publishers Group West, North America’s largest independent book distributor.
The Editions Filipacchi division of Hachette Filipacchi will publish the
book in Francophone countries. The book will also be published in South Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

All publishing profits will be used to fund AIDS education programs in
Africa. Programs will be selected in concert with The Harvard AIDS
Institute, South Africa’s renowned Soul City Foundation, and the Johns
Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. Funds will be
administered by the Tides Foundation.

Our hotel partner is Le Meridien.

Crucial support for A Day in the Life of Africa is also provided by Lexar
Media, The World Bank Group, Eskom, South African Airways, and Air France.
Additional support is provided by RFI-Radio France Internationale, Paris
Match, Pictopia and Minds@Work.

Venture funding was provided by LJCB Investments of Melbourne, Australia.
“A Day in the LifeÆ” is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers,
and it is used with their generous permission.
###

–>

100 Top Photojournalists Gather in Paris

Prior to One Day Africa Shoot

A Day in the Life of Africa® to launch on February 23

PARIS — On February 23, 2002, one hundred of the world’s foremost
photojournalists, representing 20 countries, will arrive at Le Meridien,
Montparnasse, in Paris to receive their assignments and digital equipment
for a historic one-day photo shoot in Africa. They will capture the entire
African continent - 53 nations - on a single day: February 28, 2002.
The best images from the shoot will be included in A Day in the Life of
Africa, a book, website, and traveling exhibition that will represent the
most wide-ranging look at Africa ever assembled. The resulting photos will
be published in November 2002, and all publishing profits will be used to
fund AIDS education programs in Africa.

The project creators include David Cohen, of San Francisco, California and
Lee Liberman of Melbourne, Australia. Cohen has directed the “A Day in the Life®” book series for 20 years, and has published 11 titles, including A
Day in the Life of America, China, Russia and Japan. Liberman, is the
producer of the project and is directing the Day in the Life of Africa AIDS
Education Fund.

The diverse photo team includes more than a dozen Pulitzer Prize and World
Press Photo winners, 20 members of the famed Magnum and VII photo agencies,
and 20 African and African-American photographers. The entire 100-person
photography team will be outfitted with Olympus E20 and C4040 digital
cameras.

The photographers will depart from Paris on February 24, and when they
arrive at their destinations in Africa, they will capture everything from
the San bushmen of Botswana to the hip Lagos music scene. They will be
granted access to Congo riverboats, sacred caves used by traditional Sotho
healers and a women’s bathhouse in Morocco. They will document mountain
gorillas in Rwanda, and a movie studio in Cairo. With access to homes,
schools, and workplaces across the continent, they will create a rich
tapestry of African life as it is lived on one day.

A Day in the Life of Africa will be published in the United States and
Canada on November 1, 2002, through Publishers Group West, North America’s
largest independent book distributor, and in Francophone countries through
the Editions Filipacchi division of Hachette Filipacchi. The book will also
be published in South Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

All publishing profits will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa. Programs will be selected in concert with The Harvard AIDS Institute, South Africa’s renowned Soul City Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. Funds will be administered by the Tides Foundation.

Our technology partner is Apple.

Our hotel partner is Le Meridien.

Crucial support for A Day in the Life of Africa is provided by Lexar Media, The World Bank Group, Eskom, South African Airways and Air France.

Additional support is provided by RFI-Radio France Internationale, Paris Match, and Minds@Work.

Venture funding was provided by LJCB Investments of Melbourne, Australia.

“A Day in the Life®” is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers, and it is used with their generous permission.

###

–>

If you do not already have an unzip utility on your computer,
download Stuffit Expander at http://www.stuffit.com/expander/ (Macintosh users)
or download WinZip at http://www.winzip.com/ddchomea.htm (Windows users).

For high resolution photographs, contact: info@ditlafrica.com

Logotype in eps format - four color (DITLAfrica_Logo_4c_eps.zip)

Logotype in eps format - PMS match color (DITLAfrica_Logo_PMSmatch_eps.zip)

–>

Why did you decide to do this project?

I read a cover article in a newsmagazine last February about AIDS in Africa, that said, “Look at these photos. Read the words, and try not to care.” I only have one useful talent: for 20 years I’ve been producing huge photo projects- pulling together the world’s top photojournalists to create snapshots of life in other countries. I figured it was time to create a book that put a human face on Africa, that raises Africa’s profile and makes people care about its people. Then we could donate the publishing profits to AIDS education programs on the ground in Africa. Even though the profits go to AIDS education, I knew that, editorially, this book should focus on joyful, everyday experience, on the aspects of life we all have in commonÖ work, school, play. Because, ironically, it’s only after you see Africans as fellow human beings sharing common goals and desires- not as perpetual disaster victims- that you can truly care about this plague that is decimating the continent.

Major concerns?

Anytime you send 100 people into Africa, even experienced photojournalists, a certain number will get arrested, sick, hurtÖ or worse. We were missing a few photographers for a while. Antonin Kratochvil was stuck in the Congo for 20 days because of weather. Local police detained a few photographers. Many got sickÖbut eventually, everyone returned to Paris essentially unharmed. That was my foremost concern, that we get our people back safely.

What is the most controversial photo in the book?

There is a photo of a female circumcision - a young Maasai girl in Kenya. She’s 13 - and the photographer had rare access to the ceremony. It’s an extraordinary photo. Maasai girls aren’t considered women or permitted to marry until they undergo this procedure. It’s an ancient tradition, but now there are Maasai women teaching other Maasai women the advantages of not circumcising their daughters. When I did a book called The Circle of Life, about rites of passage in 1990, I took a lot of heat for publishing a similar image. I received more than a dozen letters from anti-clitorectomy activists and lots of talk show questions. Obviously, we’re not condoning genital mutilation, but it’s not something that we could ignore either.

On the other hand, there were tough pictures we didn’t use. Two examples: a photo of a baby, dead from AIDS, left alone on a mortuary slab, and another photo depicting the body of a thief who was apprehended by a mob in front of our photographer in Togo. The thief was killed, mutilated and burned on the spot. The photographer, Daniel LainÈ, called us in Paris right after that incident, and wanted to leave Togo immediately, but by the time we could find him a flight he calmed down a bit and decided to continue his shoot. The photos were incredibly graphic and in our opinion, not consistent with the feel of the book.

We also received an amazing take from Guy Tillim, a talented South African photojournalist who shot in Angola. Angolans have suffered three decades of civil war and are now rebuilding their country. They want to put the war behind them. Many of the photosÖ all fabulousÖ show dilapidated, bullet-ridden buildings, the detritus of war. But in deference to Angolan sensibilities, we ran an essay that portrays Angola more as a place on the mend-and we lost some very good pictures in the process. This was a controversial decision, even within the DITLA staffÖ and certain foreign editions of the book show the bullet-ridden shots instead.

Aren’t you concerned that this is an unrealistically happy view of Africa - that you’re ignoring the issues there?

Is our book a happier, brighter version of Africa? Yes. Coffee table books, by their nature, are celebrations. But it’s also a question of balance. Africans are almost always portrayed in the media as victimsÖ of famine, war, disease and corruption. But at any given time, 80% of Africans are not living under dire conditions. Our intention was to show the side of Africa that the news media doesn’t portray. This helps to strike a balance, emphasizing the human face of Africa - people going to school and to work, leading relatively safe, prosperous and secure lives. Ironically, if we can humanize Africa in this way and make people understand that we all share a basic human bond, then we can make them care about helping people suffering from AIDS.

With a war in Iraq looming, and terrorism dominating the headlines- why should anyone care about a picture book on Africa?

If 9/11 has taught us anything, it’s that we need to pay attention to what is going on in the rest of the world. Americans no longer live an insulated life where we can ignore grave problems in other societies-particularly a plague that has killed millions, orphaned a generation and now threatens the basic framework of many African societies. Globalism means there’s no “over there” any more. 9/11 was an atrocity of immense proportionsÖ and twice as many people die every day from AIDS in Africa as died in the World Trade Center. Think of that. We had a very difficult time raising corporate funding for this project prior to 9/11. The book’s producer, Lee Liberman, and I traveled to three continents over the course of six months, and basically raised zero money. Few companies sell a significant portion of their products in Africa, and the continent is not on most companies’ front PR burner. But after the 9/11 tragedy, it was a whole different story. People at all levels had a sense that they wanted to give something back to the world, to make a difference. That sense, among corporate decision-makers and the many talented people who lent their efforts to this project, is what made it possible.

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David Elliot Cohen

A Yale graduate, best-selling author and editor, David Elliot Cohen has written, co-authored and edited 20 large-format illustrated books that have collectively sold more than 3.5 million copies. His “Day in the Life” series is the nation’s best-known, best-respected series of photography books. Three of Cohen’s books were New York Times bestsellers: A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union, Christmas in America and A Day in the Life of America, which sold more than 1.3 million copies, rose to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and remained on the list for more than a year. Several other Cohen titles were national and international bestsellers, including his charming travelogue, One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for A Round-the-World Journey with our Children.

The “Day in the Life” series had a bumpy start. The first installment, A Day in the Life of Australia was rejected by 36 US and Australian publishers. Despite this, Cohen and his partner borrowed $250,000 and self-published the book which went on to become a #1 bestseller in Australia selling more than 250,000 copies (”the only reason we weren’t imprisoned in Australia,” notes the author.)

Cohen has garnered numerous awards including the Innovation in Photography Award from the American Society of Media Photographers, several National Press Association and World Press Photo Awards, a National Jewish Book Award for The Jews in America, a Catholic Press Association Award for The Circle of Life and a silver medal from the Spanish government for A Day in the Life of Spain. On the basis of One Year Off, he was made a literary laureate of the San Francisco Public Library.

Cohen has appeared numerous times on “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” and many other national news programs. He has been profiled in The New York Times, People Magazine and other major publications. He is particularly proud of the three books he has produced and published on a pro-bono basis: 15 Seconds: The California Earthquake of 1989 which raised more than $600,000 for victims of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Requiem for the Heartland which raised nearly $300,000 for the 1996 Oklahoma bombing victims and A Day in the Life of Africa (2002) which will benefit African AIDS Education programs. Cohen lives in San Francisco (and sometimes Paris) with his wife, Devyani Kamdar and their three children, Kara, Willie and Lucas.

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What is A Day in the Life of Africa?

Who is organizing this project?

Why are you doing this project?

What will be in the book?

How will you distribute funds to support AIDS Education?

Who is funding this project?

Where will the project be headquartered?

Who are the photographers?

How did you select the photographers?

Is this truly an all-digital project?

How do the photographers feel about shooting digitally?

Do you have any concerns about shooting this project digitally?

When will the book, website, and exhibit launch?

Where will the book be published?

What is A Day in the Life of Africa?

One hundred photojournalists will document 53 African nations, covering the entire continent, on a single day: February 28, 2002. The photos will be incorporated into a photography book, website, and traveling photo exhibition, to launch in November 2002. All the publishing proceeds will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa.

Who is organizing this project?

The project director of A Day in the Life of Africa, David Cohen, has produced and directed the “Day in the Life” series for 20 years, including A Day in the Life of America, China and the Soviet Union. The titles have collectively sold 2.5 million copies. The project is being produced by Lee Liberman, who also chairs The Day in the Life of Africa AIDS Education Fund.

Why are you doing this project?

This project is a celebration of African life that will actually save African lives. Its purpose is to raise money for AIDS education programs in Africa and global awareness of a continent at risk.

What will be in the book?

The subject matter of the project is not AIDS, although there will be some AIDS-related stories included. Instead, the book will contain 250 color and 50 black-and-white photographs taken by the world’s greatest photojournalists, which capture Africa’s wonderful richness and diversity. We are honored that the book will include a foreword written by Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

How will you distribute funds to support AIDS Education?

Funds will be administered by the Tides Foundation. Programs will be selected in concert with the Harvard AIDS Institute, South Africa’s renowned Soul City Foundation and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs.

Who is funding this project?

A Day in the Life of Africa is made possible by generous grants from Pfizer, Olympus, Anheuser-Busch, and ChevronTexaco. A Day in the Life of Africa’s technology partner is Apple. Our hotel partner is Le Meridien. Other crucial support for A Day in the Life of Africa is being provided by Lexar Media, The World Bank Group, Eskom, South African Airways, and Air France. Additional support is provided by RFI-Radio France Internationale. Our seed funding was provided by LJCB Investments of Melbourne, Australia.
Where will the project be headquartered?

The project will be headquartered in Paris. Along with New York, Paris is a center of world photojournalism, and is the home-base of many of our photographers. The schedule is as follows:

February 22: Photographers arrive in Paris.

February 23: Photographer briefing, press event, and launch party.

February 25: Photographers depart for their assignments in Africa.

February 28: Shoot day throughout Africa.

Who are the photographers?

The diverse photo team will include more than a dozen Pulitzer Prize and World Press Photo winners as well as 20 members of the famed Magnum and VII photo agencies. More than 20 African and African-American photographers will participate, providing a crucial perspective on the continent. The final list of photographers will be announced on February 1, 2002.

How did you select the photographers?

Primarily, our team was selected by Eliane Laffont, Worldwide Editorial Director of the Hachette-Filipacchi Media Group. Her standard was simple — she wanted the best photojournalists working in the world today. We also wanted a diverse team from many different countries.
Is this truly an all-digital project?

Yes. Every Day in the Life of Africa photographer will be outfitted with five-megapixel Olympus E-20 and Olympus C4040 cameras, marking the first time “Day in the Life” is utilizing digital cameras. The images will be stored on Lexar Media’s 256MB USB-enabled CompactFlash cards and 128MB SmartMedia digital film. Photographers in the field will download their images to a 5GB MindStor portable hard-drive, or “digital wallet.” Upon return to Paris, images will be transferred to equipment provided by Apple. Our picture editors will use Apple computers with G4 processors and active-matrix digital flat-panel displays screens to edit the pictures.
How do the photographers feel about shooting digitally?

Many of the photographers have never shot an assignment with digital equipment, let alone an assignment in a highly competitive “Day in the Life” project. Many feel like track stars trying on new shoes for the first time at the Olympics. But we’re doing everything we can to familiarize the photojournalists with the gear. All of the photographers will be provided with digital equipment a few weeks ahead of the shoot, and many will attend pre-shoot digital training sessions hosted by Olympus in New York, Paris, and Johannesburg.
Training sessions are available for media coverage:

(contact: gina@oneafricanday.com)

New York: Saturday, February 2, 2002

Paris: Saturday, February 9, 2002, and Saturday, February 23, 2002

Johannesburg: Monday, February 18, 2002

Do you have any concerns about shooting this project digitally?

Of course, any time you use new technology for the first time, you have to be concerned. For “Day in the Life” and photojournalism as a whole, the shift from chemical to digital-based photography is nothing short of revolutionary. But we believe that the shift is inevitable and that digital photography has finally reached a point where it can generate the top-quality images needed for a “Day in the Life” project. We’ll see if we’re right.

We are currently investigating battery life and recharging options. Equally vexing are dirt and dust problems. Dirt and dust can enter the camera during lens changes, cling to a camera’s CCD, and can render images nearly useless, but the fixed zoom lens on the Olympus E20 drastically reduces the possibility for damage to the CCD and image information.

When will the book, website, and exhibit launch?

The book will be published in the United States, Canada, France and South Africa on November 1, 2002. The traveling exhibit and the second phase of the website will launch at that time.

Where will the book be published?

The English edition of the book will initially be available in the United States and Canada, through Publishers Group West, and in South Africa. It will also eventually be published in the United Kingdom and Australia. The French edition of the book will be distributed in Francophone countries through the Editions Filipacchi division of Hachette Filipacchi.

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SAN FRANCISCO - After a six-year hiatus, the best-selling photo book series in history is making a comeback. A Day in the Life of Africa, the 14th book in the series that began more than 20 years ago, will be released in October, 2002. For the first time in the Day in the Life series, which included New York Times bestsellers A Day in the Life of America, and A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union, all publishing profits will go to charity - supporting AIDS education programs in Africa.

On February 28, 2002, nearly 100 of the world’s top photojournalists traveled throughout Africa - a continent of 53 countries - and documented the diversity of its people, geography, and customs. In this 24-hour journey, the photographers captured the teeming markets of Marrakesh, bustling Congo riverboats, and sacred ceremonies in Kenya. They documented the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, a sultan’s court in Niger, the hip Lagos music scene, and the quiet dignity of a Zambian AIDS hospice. With access to homes, schools, and workplaces across the continent, they created a rich tapestry of African life as it is lived on one day.

The project was directed by Day in the Life veteran David Cohen of San Francisco, who has directed eleven titles in the series, and produced by Lee Liberman of Melbourne, Australia. “When African countries are portrayed in the media, they are usually represented by images of famine and war,” commented Cohen, “We asked the photographers to show Africa as a place of hope.”

Cohen and Liberman, who last teamed up 8 years ago on A Day in the Life of Israel decided it was time to raise global awareness of Africa, where more than 25 million men, women and children are HIV positive. All publishing profits will go to AIDS education programs in Africa.

The book includes 250 color and black and white photos, an introduction by Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations and a foreword by Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. To coincide with book publication, project underwriter Pfizer is launching “A Day in the Life of Africa” photo exhibition at New York’s Grand Central Station, on October 22, 2002. In addition, BMG is releasing “A Day in the Life of Africa” music CD, and prints from the project will be available from Pictopia.com. A DVD documentary on the project is being created by @radical media.

A Day in the Life of Africa, will be published in the United States and Canada through the Tides Foundation and distributed by Publishers Group West, North America’s largest independent book distributor. The Editions Filipacchi division of Hachette Filipacchi will publish the book in Francophone countries. The book will also be published in South Africa, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

All publishing profits will be used to fund AIDS education programs in Africa. Programs will be selected in concert with The Harvard AIDS Institute, South Africa’s renowned Soul City Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. Funds will be administered by the Tides Foundation.

A Day in the Life of Africa is underwritten with generous grants from Pfizer, Olympus, Anheuser-Busch and ChevronTexaco. Our technology partner is Apple. Our hotel partner is Le Meridien. Our music partner is BMG Entertainment. Venture funding provided by LJCB Investment Group.

Important support for A Day in the Life of Africa was provided by LexarMedia, The World Bank Group, Eskom, Pictopia.com, Publishers Group West, @radical.media, Pictopia and South African Airways

Additional support is provided by Air France, Minds@Work, Rush Labo, RFI-Radio France Internationale, Blue Pixel, GretagMacbeth, DUGGAL Visual Solutions, NY, Palm Pictures llc, Putumayo World Music and nik multimedia.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AFRICA

• Directed by David Cohen, produced by Lee Liberman
• 288 pages,; 250 color and black and white photos
• 10 1/4″ x 12 1/2″ verticle, shrinkwrapped
• Suggested retail price: $50.00 ($69.95 Canada)
• ISBN 0-9718021-0-6
• Publication date: October 30, 2002
• Published by Tides Foundation distributed by Publishers Group West

“A Day in the Life” is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers, and it is used with their generous permission.

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