The World Press Photo competition is an arena for photojournalists to meet. It’s a highly prestigious event for any photojournalist, regardless of whether they are attached to a publishing institution. Over the last few years, a great number of the competition’s winners have been independent photojournalists. This year, out of 59 categories, 41 were won by independents.

Syahdan Shahidul Alam, 45, is a photojournalist from Bangladesh