Kate Holt Explained

Kate Holt
Birth Date:1972
Birth Place:Zimbabwe
Alma Mater:University of St Andrews
Occupation:Photojournalist
Awards:St Andrews, University - Exceptional Services Award

Katherine Emily Holt (born 1972) is a British photojournalist,[1] who works primarily across Africa and the Middle East to gather humanitarian and development stories for NGOs and private companies, as well as the UK and global media.[2] She is also the director of communications agency, Arete.[3]

Early life and education

Holt was born in Zimbabwe in 1972 to British and South African parents. She grew up in Newfoundland and was educated in the UK at St Anne's, Windermere, from the age of eleven. Before going to university, she spent a year working in the Negru Voda Orphanage in Romania with HIV positive and disabled children. She returned there each summer during her years as a student. She completed her studies with a History Masters from St Andrew's University, Scotland, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Photojournalism from The London School of Printing, London.

Career

Holt began her career with the BBC, working on Breakfast News and BBC News 24. Her first field experiences were in Kosovo, documenting the effects of the conflict on the civilian population. From there she went on to write her first investigative report which uncovered the trafficking of young girls from Eastern Europe into Bosnia and on to the UK.[4] This work was published as a cover feature in The Sunday Times Magazine'[5] ' and in The Observer.[4] It was the first time the issue of trafficking of women from Eastern Europe for sexual purposes was exposed.[6]

In 1999, Holt moved to Nairobi, Kenya, to cover news events throughout East and West Africa. In 2001, after the September 11 attacks in the US, Holt travelled to Pakistan and documented the influx of refugees over the border form Afghanistan as US and British troops closed in on the Taliban. In 2003, Holt traveled into Iraq with the first medical convoy to offer support to both Basra and Nazariyah as the coalition troops toppled Saddam Hussein.

In 2009, Holt relocated to Kabul, Afghanistan and spent three years covering the ongoing conflict there for a variety of British newspapers including the Daily Mail, The Guardian and the Financial Times.

In February 2012, Holt launched Arete, a media and communications agency specialising in humanitarian storytelling, media strategy and training, and which produces content for NGOs, charities and corporations in order to tell "stories that make a difference".

In 2013, Holt was the first journalist to expose rape as a weapon of war being used by Somali soldiers against women living in refugee camps throughout Mogadishu.[7] The story was published by The Guardian and subsequently numerous human rights groups have become engaged in the issue.[8] A year later, in 2014, Holt was the first journalist to expose the sexual abuse of women in South Sudan following the return to war between South Sudanese Government soldiers and opposition forces.[9] Holt covered the siege of the Westgate shopping Centre in Nairobi after it was attacked by Terrorists in 2013 and produced a series of photographs and stories for media outlets including the BBC.[10]

Now based in the UK, Holt regularly travels to document the experiences of refugees and the effects of war and poverty on women and children in conflicts in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Somalia, South Sudan, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti. She photographs for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including UNICEF, Care International, Jhpiego, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins Sans Frontières and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Holt is a regular contributor to The BBC, The Guardian and The Mail on Sunday.[11] Her work has also been published in The Independent, The Times, The Observer, Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and Financial Times.[11]

Reporting of sexual exploitation by UN Peacekeepers

In 2004 and 2005, Holt uncovered a story of sexual exploitation by United Nations Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a series of articles for The Independent.[12] The story led to Kofi Annan announcing a 'Zero Tolerance' policy on the issue.[13]

Holt went on to publish an article concerning an apparent cover-up by the UN in New York of sexual harassment by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Ruud Lubbers.[14] Her article concerned an OIOS report that stated Lubbers had sexually harassed members of his staff. The report, which had later been reviewed following challenges to its verdict, was found to be deficient in reasoning as there was no corroboratory evidence from the other witnesses to the alleged harassment. For this reason, the UN decided not to publish the report. Ruud Lubbers resigned from his post after Holt's article was published due to the negative publicity, although he maintained that he was innocent of any allegations. Kofi Annan, whilst accepting his resignation, also stated that the findings that the allegations had no substance, were still valid.

Trusteeships

Holt is a trustee of RE:ACT disaster response and the Royal Humane Society.[15]

Arete

In February 2012, Holt launched Arete – a media and communications agency that specialises in humanitarian storytelling, media strategy, content production and training for NGOs, charities and corporations. She is director of the company and regularly undertakes assignments for Arete's clients.

Awards

In 1996, while at St Andrews, the University awarded Holt a prize for exceptional services to a community for her work in Romanian orphanages.[16]

Holt has been nominated twice for the Amnesty Award for Humanitarian Reporting. Once in 2005 for her series of articles entitled when peacemakers become predators[17] and again in 2010 for a photographic series on Elderly people in Zimbabwe.[18]

She was highly commended by Amnesty International for her coverage of the drought crisis in the Horn of Africa in 2011.[19]

Exhibitions

In 2003, Holt traveled to Iraq and photographed the impact of the UK and US invasion on the civilian population in Basra and Nazariah. The work produced was exhibited in London and Angers in France.[20] The exhibition, entitled 'Victory' was supported by the playwright Harold Pinter and Tariq Ali, both of whom supported the anti-war movement. The photographs were used by Amnesty International for their campaign to end the use of cluster bombs and illegal weapons by the Coalition Forces in Iraq.

Between 2010 and 2011, Holt was embedded with AMISOM troops from Uganda and Burundi on the frontline of Mogadishu. As well as producing a body of work on behalf of AMISOM she trained six Ugandan and Burundian soldiers in photography. The results of this training and her own work were exhibited in the Nairobi National Museum, Kenya in October 2011 in an exhibition entitled Brothers in Arms.[21] The exhibition subsequently traveled to the National Museum in Uganda and the UN Exhibition Centre in Burundi and now resides on the AMISOM base in Mogadishu International Airport.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kate Holt. the Guardian. 2016-04-11.
  2. Web site: Kate – Kate Holt. kateholt.com. en-US. 2018-09-13.
  3. Web site: Ethos meets- Kate Holt. Medium. 5 December 2018. Atkins. Jack.
  4. News: Once they were girls. Now they are slaves. The Observer . 2 February 2002. The Guardian.
  5. “Captive Market,” The Sunday Times Magazine, February 18, 2001, 5
  6. Sex Trafficking: The Impact of War, Militarism and Globalization in Eastern Europe. Vesna. Nikolic-Ristanovic. 1 January 2003. 2027/spo.ark5583.0017.001.
  7. Web site: Somalia's refugee camps leave women and girls vulnerable to violent assault – audio slideshow | Global development | theguardian.com . www.theguardian.com . 14 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130921044029/http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/video/2012/oct/30/somalia-refugee-camps-women-audio-slideshow . 21 September 2013 . dead.
  8. Here, Rape is Normal. 13 February 2014. Hrw.org. 2016-12-14.
  9. Web site: Sexual violence in South Sudan – audio slideshow. Gilliam. Eva. Hilaire. Eric. 2014-06-05. the Guardian. 2016-04-11.
  10. News: 2018-11-02. Audio slideshow: Kenya mourns. BBC News. 1 October 2013.
  11. Web site: Editorial. 23 March 2016. Kateholt.com. 2016-12-14.
  12. Web site: A Strategy to Address Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by United Nations Peacekeeping Personnel Perspective 39 Cornell International Law Journal 2006. Heinonline.org. 2016-12-14.
  13. News: Sex and the UN: when peacemakers become predators. The Independent. en-GB. 2005-01-11.
  14. News: Harassment, intimidation and secrecy - UN chief engulfed in sex. 18 February 2005. Independent.co.uk. 2016-12-14.
  15. Web site: Monson. Jessica. About Kate Holt. Kateholt.com. 6 November 2017.
  16. Web site: From the photographers: Climate change. Medium. 3 March 2021.
  17. Web site: Amnesty International Media Awards 2005 shortlists announced. Amnesty.org.uk. 2016-12-14.
  18. Web site: Media Awards 2010 shortlists announced. Amnesty.org.uk. 2016-12-14.
  19. Web site: Breakdown of Amnesty International UK media award winners - Documents. Documentslide.com. 2016-12-14. 21 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161221190301/http://documentslide.com/documents/breakdown-of-amnesty-international-uk-media-award-winners.html. dead.
  20. Web site: Into the dead zone. 23 July 2003. Standard.co.uk. 2016-12-14.
  21. Web site: Photographic Exhibition: Brothers in Arms, Oct. 6-16 2011 @ National Museum. 12 October 2011. Nairobinow.wordpress.com. 2016-12-14.
  22. Web site: Brothers in Arms exhibition to open eyes on the conflict in Somalia - AMISOM. 17 April 2012. Amisom-au.org. 2016-12-14.
  23. Web site: Exhibitions – Kate Holt. kateholt.com. en-US. 2018-11-02.
  24. Web site: Gun News: Firearm policy and violence, gun law and gun control. Philip. Alpers. Gunpolicy.org. 2016-12-14. 20 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220103142/http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/search/?l=United%20Nations&start=500. dead.
  25. Web site: BIO - HSfoto . www.heidischumann.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181215141739/https://heidischumann.com/bio . 2018-12-15.
  26. Web site: FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR 2006 . Ipu.org . 2016-12-14.
  27. Web site: Kyrgyzstan . 6 June 2012 . HelpAge . 31 August 2021 .
  28. Web site: Fashion. Pinterest.com. 2016-12-14.
  29. Web site: CARE International's Street Gallery Photo Exhibition - The London Insider. London-insider.co.uk. 2016-12-14. 20 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220130629/http://www.london-insider.co.uk/2010/06/care-international-street-gallery-world-photography-exhibition-thames/2147483647/. dead.
  30. News: Hidden Faces: Women and Girls in Afghanistan. 9 February 2011. Indepepndent.co.uk. 2016-12-14.
  31. Web site: p.11. 8 December 2016. 10 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210022304/http://www.africanstudies.ox.ac.uk/sites/sias/files/documents/ASC-Newsletter-2012.pdf. dead.
  32. Web site: UNICEF Somalia - Feature stories - Through the Eyes of Somali Youth Exhibition opens in Nairobi. Unicef.org. 2016-12-14.
  33. Web site: Unseen Enemy exhibition - National Army Museum, London. Nam.ac.uk. 2016-12-14. 17 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160917202819/http://www.nam.ac.uk/microsites/unseen-enemy/. dead.
  34. Web site: Photography exhibition celebrates success in agriculture reforms - Business Daily . www.businessdailyafrica.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20171027024639/http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/lifestyle/society/Photography-exhibition-celebrates-success-in-agriculture-reforms/3405664-3391648-3veoooz/index.html . 2017-10-27.
  35. News: South Sudan: The Cost of a Relentless War. Frontline Club. 2018-09-13. en.
  36. News: About the London Somalia Conference 2017. GOV.UK. 2018-09-13. en.
  37. News: 'Traffickers take all that makes you human': faces of modern slavery – in pictures. Hodal. Annie Kelly Kate. 2017-07-30. The Guardian. 2018-09-13. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  38. News: Girls of South Sudan on gunshot wounds, hunger and hope – in pictures. Holt. Kate. 2018-06-25. The Guardian. 2018-09-13. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  39. Web site: Exposition : Les Héros de la Vaccination. www.facebook.com. en. 2018-09-13.
  40. Web site: Kibera exhibitionwebsite=www.facebook.com. Facebook. en. 2019-09-23.
  41. Web site: How this non-profit organization is helping to empower female entrepreneurs in developing countries. 12 August 2021. Hanna. Aoife. Woman & Home.

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