Connecting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Ubuntu - I am because we are.

UBUNTU - I AM BECAUSE WE ARE

Ubuntu is a word of African origin that means "I am because we are". Solidarity, humanity, trust and support for each other. This is precisely what has been in the lens of photographer André François for over a decade, capturing scenes of people in the health universe in Brazil and worldwide.

With a focus on sensitising people about the importance of health, education, health promotion and quality of life through caring and connecting people, André François decided to create the Ubuntu photo documentary.

André immersed himself in the theme since 2008, visiting 15 countries. From Amerindian communities, such as the Yanomami, in Roraima, Brazil, and the Inuits, in Nunavut, Canada, through Japan, China, Bolivia, Cambodia, the United States and Haiti, to South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

The unprecedented times of covid-19 is also present in the images. A powerful series that aims to inspire people from all over the world to make us realize how similar we are and how connected we are with each other, even though living in different parts of the planet.

The project is about to be finalised not only in a book format but also in an itinerant exhibition that will travel around Brazil and potential places in the United States and Europe.

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VIDEOS

3-minute video that explains the Ubuntu project in Andre's words (English captions available): https://youtu.be/IbBnUpNDN70

André François - TEDx talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/andre_francois_ubuntu_eu_sou_porque_nos_somos

IMAGES

A selection of photos from Ubuntu project by André François:

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ABOUT ANDRÉ FRANÇOIS

André François discovered his passion for photography very early. With only 16 years old he made his first clicks, and from this hobby was born his profession. André has traveled all over the world documenting society's problems and cultures from different nations. The contact with these realities was essential to create ImageMagica, organisation he founded in 1995 aiming to develop social impact projects using photography.

In 2003, André was recognised by the III Latin America Conference for Health Promotion and Education and, three years later, he was a finalist for the Social Entrepreneur Award, an initiative of the Schwab Foundation in partnership with the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

Sure that "to perceive the world we live in is the first step towards changing it", the photographer builds, since 2005, a big archive of pictures about health, all registered in 6 books: Caring – A documentary about humane medical care in Brazil (2006), The curve and the path – Access to health care in Brazil (2008), Choosing and living – Treatment and quality of life of chronic renal patients (2009), Back home – A documentary about home care in Brazil (2010), Brazilian Health Expeditions (2013) and Beyond skin (2015).

Through these projects, André won important awards, like the 1st place on Conrado Wessel Foundation Award, in 2008, and some of his photographs were chosen in 2009 to be part of the permanent Pirelli-Masp Photography Collection, the largest photo collection in Brazil.

François developed the Ubuntu project with the support of partners such as United Nations (UN), Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Red Cross.