Truth Tellers, the Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit, is pleased to announce the first Sir Harry Evans Global Fellow in Photojournalism, Kiana Hayeri. The fellowship, which provides one of the most richly endowed awards in photojournalism, also offers the winner that rarest of prizes, the gift of time: a year working with Reuters and Canada’s Globe and Mail, mentored by both organisations’ leading photo editors and supported by their newsroom resources.

Hayeri emerged as a clear and compelling choice from a highly competitive global field, standing out not only with the strength and sensitivity of her portfolio but also with the clarity of her vision and the moral urgency of her work. An award-winning photojournalist whose reporting centres on women and communities living through conflict, displacement, and political upheaval, Hayeri brings a deeply personal perspective to stories that are too often overlooked. Born and raised in Iran, she has spent her career working across underreported regions in the Middle East, Central Asia, and beyond.

During her fellowship, Hayeri will work on a long-term, globally reported body of work rooted in questions of power, truth, and the future in times of crisis. Drawing on her experience working far from international attention, the project will capture visually what it means to tell the truth when foundational institutions are under strain.

The fellowship was made possible through the generosity of Thomson Reuters chairman David Thomson and his family. David’s grandfather, Lord Roy Thomson, owned The Times and The Sunday Times during Sir Harry Evans’s celebrated tenure as editor.

“This fellowship gives me the time, support, and mentorship to stay with the work in a meaningful way. It allows me to deepen a practice rooted in slow storytelling, where photography holds power to account while centring the lived experiences of those most affected. At a time when truth is contested and attention is fleeting, staying with these stories is more urgent than ever.”

Kiana Hayeri, Sir Harry Evans Global Fellow in Photojournalism

“We could not be more excited and grateful to David Thomson for being able to support Kiana’s outstanding work. Her photographs are powerful and thrilling, and stopped us in our tracks. I know Harry would have devoted multiple pages of The Sunday Times Magazine to her haunting pictures.”

Tina Brown, co-founder of the Truth Tellers Summit with Reuters and Durham University

Of Sir Harry Evans’s 17 books, six were about news photography and its ethics. His 1978 book Pictures on a Page remains the definitive study on the creation and presentation of powerful pictures. He received the Hood Medal of the Royal Photographic Society and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Center for Photography.

The fellowship in his name will be presented to Hayeri live on stage at the fourth annual Truth Tellers, the Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit, on 6 May.