Jeppe Schilder
Utrecht, Netherlands
Jeppe Schilder (1982) is a documentary and portrait photographer, storyteller, communication advisor, concept developer and content strategist with a focus on humanitarian and international development issues. He travelled to more than 40 countries collecting stories.
Jeppe also has a broad experience in mentoring workshops in storytelling and photography for NGO staff and is the founder and coordinator of the DRA humanitarian aid course Beyond Disaster: a course for journalism students in the Netherlands in partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SHO and four Journalism Schools in the Netherlands.
His academic background in Conflict Studies & Human Rights, combined with extensive experience working both in the field and at NGO Headquarters, have given him the experience and insight to understand the contexts in which humanitarian and development organisations work.
Too often aid is seen as simply cheques going out the door. For many it is difficult to visualise what this money actually represents and what it can do. In his work, Jeppe aims to bring this aid to life with striking photography, compelling stories and engaging concepts to motivate supporters and affect change. He tries to show aid is about transforming lives. That it is about health services, schools and institutions that transform communities. Fundamentals that matter to people all over the world.
Jeppe is commissioned by several NGOs like Oxfam Novib, War Child, dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation, Free Press Unlimited, Pax, Clingendael, Spark, Diakonia, PMU and dance4life. His worked has been published in various media including Sunday Telegraph, Globe and Mail, NRC Next, NRC Handelsblad, Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag and Radio Netherlands Worldwide.
When not working abroad, Jeppe is available for assignment in the Netherlands.
- Breaking news
- Conflict
- Crisis
- Editorial
- Environment
- Interview
- Medical
- Military embed
- Portrait
- Reporting
Conflict minerals
Jeppe Schilder
Congo hosts a significant amount of the world’s tin, tungsten and, especially, coltan, known collectively as the 3Ts (tantalum comes from coltan) — minerals that are found in everything from cellphones and computers to lightbulbs and vacuum cleaners.
These natural resources should be a blessing but instead are a deadly curse perpetuating the fighting. The forests, diamonds, gold and other mineral resources are not managed in the interests of Congo’s people. Primarily the country’s elite, mining companies and armed militias are benefitting while contributing to violence and exploitation during wars in the region.
A daily commute
Jeppe Schilder
In 2002, Israel started to build a 708-km-long wall separating the country from the occupied Palestinian territories. The Israelis argue that the wall has decreased the number of suicide attacks on their soil. Many Palestinians, however, view the barrier as an obstacle to their dream of establishing a viable state of their own.
About 70,000 Palestinians are allowed to work legally in Israel, most of them working in construction. The have to enter Israel in the early morning and must leave by day’s end.
For thousands of them their entrance point is checkpoint 300 in the wall in Bethlehem. A daily commute for which they have to start queuing up at 4 AM.
Living onder occupation in Palestine
Jeppe Schilder
The Palestinian shepherd Hail Mahmoud Bsharat lives with his wife, children and grandchildren on a hill in the Jordan Valley, overlooking an Israeli checkpoint in the east and an Israeli army post in the west.