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Katherine Emily Holt (born 1972) is a British
photojournalist, 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. She is also the director of communications agency, Arete.
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
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
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
(Aien aristeuein)
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, Scotland, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Photojournalism from
The London School of Printing, London.
Career
Holt began her career with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, working on ''
Breakfast News
''Breakfast News'' was a breakfast news programme which first aired on BBC1 on 2 October 1989. The programme was previously known as '' Breakfast Time''. It was planned to launch on 18 September 1989 but was held back by two weeks due to tech ...
'' and
BBC News 24
BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
. 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.
This work was published as a cover feature in ''
The Sunday Times Magazine
''The Sunday Times Magazine'' is a magazine included with ''The Sunday Times''. In 1962 it became the first colour supplement to be published as a supplement to a UK newspaper, and its arrival "broke the mould of weekend newspaper publishing".
...
'' and in ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
''.
'' It was the first time the issue of trafficking of women from Eastern Europe for sexual purposes was exposed''.''
In 1999, Holt moved to
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
, Kenya, to cover news events throughout East and West Africa. In 2001, after the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
in the US, Holt travelled to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and documented the influx of refugees over the border form Afghanistan as US and British troops closed in on the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
. 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
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, Afghanistan and spent three years covering the ongoing conflict there for a variety of British newspapers including the ''
Daily Mail'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' and the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
''.
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. The story was published by ''The Guardian'' and subsequently numerous human rights groups have become engaged in the issue. 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. 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.
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
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
,
Liberia,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
,
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
, Kenya,
Sudan,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Haiti. She photographs for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) including
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
,
Care International,
Jhpiego, the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
(ICRC),
Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. ...
and
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
(UNHCR).
Holt is a regular contributor to ''
The BBC
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', ''The Guardian'' and ''
The Mail on Sunday
''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...
''.
Her work has also been published in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'', ''Daily Mail'', ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'' and ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
''.
Reporting of sexual exploitation by UN Peacekeepers
In 2004 and 2005, Holt uncovered a story of sexual exploitation by
United Nations Peacekeepers
Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a series of articles for ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
''. The story led to
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
announcing a 'Zero Tolerance' policy on the issue.
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
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
and the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands,
Ruud Lubbers
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Re ...
. 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
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers (; 7 May 1939 – 14 February 2018) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Re ...
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.
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.
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 and again in 2010 for a photographic series on Elderly people in Zimbabwe.
She was highly commended by
Amnesty International for her coverage of the drought crisis in the Horn of Africa in 2011.
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.
The exhibition, entitled 'Victory' was supported by the playwright
Harold Pinter and
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...
, 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
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...
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''.
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.
*1999: ''Plight of a People,'' The White Horse Gallery, London. Photographs of the Kosovan Refugee Crisis 1999 – Solo Exhibition.
*2001: ''Fleeing Afghanistan,'' The Gold Gallery, London. Photographs of Afghan Refugees taken in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001 – Solo Exhibition.
*2004: ''Don Bosco,'' President's House, Brussels. Portraits of children taken in Don Bosco Orphanage Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.
*2004: ''Victory,'' The Spitz Gallery London. Solo Exhibition backed by Harold Pinter, Tariq Ali and Human Rights Watch.
*2004: ''Victory,'' Angers, France. Images of the Aftermath of War in Iraq.
*2006: ''The Human Face of Gun Violence,'' UN Secretariat, New York. A joint exhibition funded by IANSA and the Human Dialogue Centre to mark the opening of the UN Review Confe:rence on the Small Arms Trade.
*2006: ''Men and Guns,'' The Dutch Foreign Ministry, The Hague. A joint exhibition, with Heidi Schumann, funded by the Human Dialogue Centre.
*2007: ''Men and Guns,'' 116th Assembly of Inter Parliamentary Union, Bali. A joint exhibition, with Heidi Schumann, funded by the Human Dialogue Centre.
*2007: ''Human Face of Gun Violence,'' Museum of Pristina, Kosova. A joint exhibition funded by IANSA and the Human Dialogue Centre.
*2008: ''Old People of Kyrgyzstan,'' Helpage International Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. A joint exhibition with Malik Alymkuloff organized by Helpage International Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
*2008: ''World Food Crisis Photography Exhibition,'' New York. Participator in a fund raising exhibition and multi-media event in New York in support of the Nuru Project.
*2010: ''Care International Photographic Exhibition,'' Thames Path in London. Participator in an awareness raising exhibition on the Thames Path in London
*2011: ''Hidden Faces – Women in Afghanistan,''
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
, London. Exhibition in the House of Commons to promote awareness of women's rights in Afghanistan.
*2011: ''Brothers in Arms,''
Nairobi National Museum. Portraying the role of the African Union in Mogadishu, Somalia. Nairobi.
*2012: ''Brothers in Arms,'' Kampala National Museum. Portraying the role of the African Union in Mogadishu, Somalia. Kampala.
*2012: ''Brothers in Arms,'' Bujumbura UN Information Centre. Exhibition in Bujumbura UN Information Centre portraying the role of the African Union in Mogadishu, Somalia. Bujumbura.
*2013: ''Children of Somalia,'' EU Somali Conference, EU Parliament, Brussels. Exhibition showing photographs taken by Somali Children as part of a Photoclub Project run by Holt in conjunction with UNICEF Somalia, as well as a selection of Holt's work from Somalia to mark the EU Somali Conference
*2013: ''Unseen Enemy Exhibition,'' National Army Museum in London. Exhibition exploring the use of IEDs in Afghanistan.
*2016: ''Shared Success: Agriculture Transformation @ 10,'' Nairobi National Museum in Kenya. Exhibition for the Rockefeller Foundation and AGRA to celebrate the success of farmers and small-scale businessmen and women in four of the 18 African countries that the Rockefeller Foundation and AGRA have been assisting over the past decade.
*2017: ''South Sudan: The Cost of a Relentless War.'' Panel discussion about the human cost of the war in South Sudan and what the future holds for the world's newest country with a selection of photos taken by Kate Holt for UNICEF in South Sudan, at the Frontline Club, London
*2017: ''London Somali Conference''. Exhibition of photographs demonstrating the consequences of the ongoing drought in Somalia in Whitehall, London
*2017: ''Guardian: Faces of Modern Slavery''. Holt contributed photography and writing to the Guardian's Faces of Modern Slavery project that documents harrowing examples of modern-day slavery in different countries that will be on display at Kings Place, London
*2018: ''Brave: The Girls of South Sudan''. Exhibition showing photographs taken by Kate on assignment with PLAN International UK in South Sudan, at the Gallery@OXO, London, UK
*2018: ''Vaccine Heroes''. Exhibition showing photographs taken by Kate on assignment with GAVI in Quai du Mont-Blanc, Geneva, Switzerland
*2019: ''Brave: The Girls of South Sudan''. Exhibition showing photographs taken by Kate on assignment with PLAN International UK in South Sudan, at the Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham
*2019: ''Brave: The Girls of South Sudan''. Exhibition showing photographs taken by Kate on assignment with PLAN International UK in South Sudan, at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh
*2019: ''Kibera: Living in the slum''. Taking an in-depth look at the developing world and its issues through the prism and people who live in Kibera, photographs by Kate and photographers from Kibera were hung in an exhibition at King's Place, in London, UK
*2021:''Refugee to Entrepreneur: All They Need Is Opportunity''. An outdoor exhibition showcasing Kate's photographs of refugees in Uganda. This London-based exhibition aims for viewers to "walk amongst these inspiring people, read their stories and learn about the power of an opportunity."
Gallery
A woman waits to be tested at a cholera treatment centre in the Budiriro District, that was badly affected by cholera, in Harare, Zimbabwe on the 21st April, 2009. Photo- Kate Holt - AusAID (10664211976).jpg, A woman waits to be tested at a cholera treatment centre in the Budiriro District, that was badly affected by cholera, in Harare, Zimbabwe on the 21 April 2009.
Annette Nandase, a beneficiary of the Beads of Hope Mbuya project, threads beads inside her home in the Mbuya district of Kampala, Uganda on the 10th March, 2009. Photo- Kate Holt - AusAID (10666574733).jpg, Annette Nandase, a beneficiary of the Beads of Hope Mbuya project, threads beads inside her home in the Mbuya district of Kampala, Uganda on 10 March 2009.
Bags of food aid, donated by the Australian Government, are piled up at a food distirbution point in Epworth, in Harare, Zimbabwe on the 23rd April, 2009. Photo- Kate Holt - AusAID (10676586745).jpg, Bags of food aid, donated by the Australian Government, are piled up at a food distribution point in Epworth, in Harare, Zimbabwe on 23 April 2009.
Patients lie in bed at a cholera treatmen centre in the Budiriro District, that was badly affected by cholera, in Harare, Zimbabwe on the 21st April, 2009. Photo- Kate Holt - AusAID (10712704546).jpg, Patients lie in bed at a cholera treatment centre in the Budiriro District, that was badly affected by cholera, in Harare, Zimbabwe on 21 April 2009.
References
External links
*
Holt's media and communications agencySlideshow on Amnesty Media Awards 2010Interview with HoltHolt's Guardian Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Kate
1972 births
Living people
English photojournalists
English women photographers
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Women photojournalists