The Decisive Moment: Photography as a Transformative Force
This engaging conversation between Spanish visual artist Ricard Le Manz and Lars Boering, Managing Director of the European Journalism Centre, explores photography’s power to shape perception and inspire transformation. Drawing on Le Manz’s work that merges environmental awareness with conceptual art, the session examines how photography moves beyond aesthetics to become a tool for change.
Through their dialogue, the discussion investigates how visual storytelling can raise consciousness about urgent global issues such as climate change, sustainability, and the human footprint. The conversation will explore how images can influence behaviour, policy, and collective memory, while also questioning the responsibility of artists in framing truth and emotion.
What defines a truly transformative photograph? Can beauty coexist with activism? And how can photographers sustain authenticity and impact in an era of digital saturation and fleeting attention?
This session will invite the audience to reflect on photography’s evolving role, from documentation to transformation, and how the decisive moment can shift from what we see to what we choose to change.
What you will take away:
• A deeper understanding of photography as a catalyst for awareness and action
• Insight into the intersection of art, ethics, and environmental storytelling
• Practical reflections on creating imagery that inspires societal and emotional transformation
Who this is for:
• Photographers, visual artists, and environmental storytellers
• Educators and students exploring the ethics of visual communication
• Anyone interested in how images can influence perception, values, and change
- Duration 40 minutes
Date
- 03 Feb 2026
Time
- 15:10 - 15:50
Labels
- Live Stage Interview
Location
Speaker
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Richard Le ManzRichard Le Manz is a Spanish photographer and visual artist known for his conceptual and symbolic approach to visual communication. Using everyday elements, his work creates images rich in meaning, often blending irony an social critique. As a contemporary visual storyteller, he employs art and photography as poetic and symbolic languages to convey deep, universal messages, transforming any subject into a powerful visual metaphor.
Moderator
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Lars BoeringLars Boering is an internationally renowned expert and advisor on photography, collector and consultant. He is the founder of Triggertale.com, a platform for visual communication and storytelling. Prior to this he guided World Press Photo Foundation to become the platform for the stories that matter. He is a professional with 25+ years of international general and change management experience in international cultural, creative and social organizations. Lars has co-produced exhibitions with photographers, Festivals, museums and art foundations and judges photo contests at the highest level: Global Peace Photo award (for Unesco and Austrian parliament), Ian Parry photojournalism Grant and is the chair of the board of MAI at Amsterdam Archives. He now serves as director of the European Journalism Centre foundation supporting, developing and strengthening journalism. In this role he was part of the committee that drafted the important and timely Charter for AI in Journalism and media and helps to guide the visual industry through this new AI landscape. He is a sought after international keynote speaker on visual storytelling, AI and Photography and is many times asked as a moderator. He believes in focussing on substantive growth and lifelong learning.
