Emphasis : crowdfound visual journalism

To ensure the safety of the first group of photojournalists raising funds through Emphas.is, Reporters Without Borders and Escapade Insurances in Canada are teaming up with Emphas.is to offer emergency medical insurance to participating photojournalists during their journeys. Whether German photographer Christoph Bangert is going to Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, Sarah Elliott, Ying Ang, Benedicte Kurzen and Agnes Dherbeys are heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo to work jointly on the subject of rape or Spanish photographer Miquel Dewever Plana is returning to the Mara neighborhoods of Guatemala City. They will all be covered during their ventures. “Insurance, including war zone insurance, will be available to anyone wishing to raise funds through Emphas.is,” said Emphas.is CEO Karim Ben Khelifa. “Many journalists, especially if they’re freelance, look at insurance as money wasted,” said Martial Tourneur of Reporters Without Borders, “but when faced with a situation where they need medical assistance or extraction from a war zone they come to regret it.” Reporters Without Borders has recently teamed up with Escapade Insurances in Canada, which has developed a policy geared specifically towards journalists at very affordable prices. “There are journalists who go to a war or disaster zone with regular travel assurance, unaware of the fact that travel insurance is invalid in countries for which their country of origin has issued a negative travel advisory. That was the case for Haiti during the earthquake, for instance.” Samuel Normand of Escapade Insurances told Emphas.is. The advantage of the Escapade Insurances package is that it can be tailored to meet the needs of individual journalists. The insurance is affordable even in the most risky countries. The Escapade package is available to any member of RWB, which is why Emphas.is is teaming up with the Paris-based organization. Photojournalists participating in Emphas.is will automatically become members of RWB and the cost of the insurance will be included in the project budget. “When money is tight it is very tempting to forego insurance. That is why we have decided to offer this opportunity to anyone seeking to raise funds through Emphas.is,” said Emphas.is CEO Ben Khelifa. “It’s a back-up plan for when things turn ugly.” Contact for Emphas.is Karim Ben Khelifa / CEO karim(at)emphas.is Tina Ahrens / COO tina(at)emphas.is Contact for Reporters Without Borders Martial Tourneur, Assistance Desk, insurance(at)rsf.org http://en.rsf.org/safety-of-journalists.html