Throughout China week, an exhibition of selected photographs for Seeing the Impacts of Climate Change was displayed in the Exchange. The exhibition aimed to document the impacts of climate change in China and its natural environment.

We believe in the power of images to raise awareness on the impacts of climate change and thanks to the featured photographers’ talent and dedication, we can observe the majesty of nature and the effects of climate change in China.

'Seeing the Impacts of Climate Change' embodied the fruitful collaboration between the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, its partners Active Anglo-Chinese Communications, Global SinoPhoto Awards and Alessandro Maturo, a freelance photographer who extensively travelled China. We would like to thank the Managing Director of Active Anglo Chinese Communications, Yintong Betser, for providing Global SinoPhoto Awards winning photographers’ shots and being a key supporting partner for this exhibition. The affiliated photographers who will be featured in this exhibition include Susan Moss, Lianfang Wang, Yuan Yi and Jianbo Zhao.

The exhibition, curated by Alice Politi, was showcased for the duration of China Week, from the 25th to the 29th of October. All proceeds from the silent auction of the photos were donated to Greenpeace East Asia.

About the Global SinoPhoto Awards:

Global SinoPhoto Awards is an annual photography contest which aims to communicate Chinese culture through remarkable imagery and connect photographers internationally. All photographers from any background and location are invited to participate, tell their Chinese story, imagine, interpret, and inspire connections between Chinese culture and the rest of the world. Global SinoPhoto Awards 2021 is judged by a prestigious panel of experts, its winning images will be touring in China and the UK throughout the year.

The Global SinoPhoto Awards is managed by ACTIVE Anglo Chinese Communications, a Public Relations consultancy. ACTIVE is committed to facilitating businesses between East and West; the Awards is further testament to ACTIVE’s enduring efforts towards this goal. Based in London, ACTIVE’s Managing Director, Yintong Betser, is a well-known member of the Anglo Chinese community. As well as being an entrepreneur, she is also a columnist for London Business Matters and author of several books including, ACTIVE business travel and UK Guide for Chinese Students.

About the charity:

Greenpeace is an independent, non-profit, global campaigning organization that uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and their causes.

Greenpeace’s goal is to ensure the ability of Earth to nurture life in all its diversity. Greenpeace has been in East Asia since 1997 to fight climate change, stop toxic pollution, ensure food security, end illegal deforestation and defend the oceans. Greenpeace has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei and Seoul. Environmental problems know no borders, and Greenpeace recognizes the importance of regional offices that work together to achieve effective solutions for a sustainable future.

Greenpeace East Asia follows high standards of accountability and transparency, providing open annual reports where funders can see how their contributions are spent. You can download Greenpeace Est Asia past annual reports here:

https://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/annual-report/

You can read more about Greenpeace Est Asia here: https://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/about-us/

About our photography partner

Alessandro Maturo, a freelance photographer, is from Castellammare di Stabia (Naples, Italy). He majored in Chinese Language and Culture at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and had spent semesters in China at Fudan University of Shanghai, and Capital Normal University of Beijing. He has also worked as an Intern at the Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing. He currently lives in Milan where he works for Huawei Technologies. His main passions are photography and travel, and he combines these interests to meet new people from around the world and explore their cultures.

He began experimenting with photography in 2017 shortly before his first journey to China. However, it was during his time as a Global Leadership Volunteer in Qinhuangdao (Hebei Province), where he had the need to create a tangible record of his experiences. Here he developed an attraction to diversity and he uncovered what arouses his creative curiosity - how people’s faces and daily activities tell the story of their lifetime.

He considers photography as free expression and source of creativity. He mainly captures the dynamism of his surroundings and waits patiently for that single moment when is able to capture what photography represents to him.

“China is sharing, altruism, a sense of community, hospitality, tradition, sacrifice and supporting each other…embodied by friends and family gathered at the dinner table, socialising with the lively swinging of chopsticks!”

About our curator

Alice Politi is a Doctoral Student, Social Media Coordinator & Project Manager at the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, where she is also a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Department of War Studies. Her doctoral research focuses on the geopolitical and economic implications of the Belt and Road Initiative in Europe. She graduated from her Master’s Degree in Language and Management to China at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where she specialised in Chinese Studies, Management and International Law, with a particular focus on Europe-China relations. A recipient of the Hanban Scholarship, she has also studied at Fudan University in Shanghai. She previously graduated with First Class Honours from her Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese and International Relations at Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. Alice has experience cooperating with think-tanks, governments and research institutes on issues ranging from national and international security to international cooperation, with a focus on China. She worked as a Consultant for the Strategy Directorate of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), on a project on China and geopolitics. She also cooperated as an Analyst for two research projects at the Oxford University Silk Road Think Tank, one in partnership with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA) and has experience as Research Assistant at King’s College London. She has produced a policy paper related to Chinese investments in Italy as part of the BRI which was published by King’s College London, the inaugural paper in the policy series “China in the World”, a project by KCL Lau China Institute in partnership with KCL School of Security Studies. Her peer-reviewed publications have also been featured on the Journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs and the Italian Institute of International Affairs (IAI).