Ilvy Njiokiktjien

Ilvy Njiokiktjien is a photojournalist, filmmaker, podcast host and educator who has been creating and sharing stories for almost two decades. She is based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and is a Contributing Photographer to the VII Foundation and a Canon Ambassador. Njiokiktjien is committed to documenting the social and political issues that shape our world. Her work is characterized by a sensitive eye and a compassionate and personal relationship with her subjects. For 12 years, she chronicled South Africa’s first post-apartheid generation. Njiokiktjien became intrigued by these young adults and portrayed them in her own, personal and intimate style. The result is the project Born Free – Mandela’s Generation of Hope, which sparked a documentary, an interactive website, a book, feature articles, and a traveling exhibition.

The VII Foundation

The VII Foundation is committed to in-depth journalism covering the crucial issues of our time. In a world where beliefs and actions are increasingly out of sync with facts and realities, our response is to document the truth to enable communities worldwide to make evidence-based choices about the challenges impacting their lives.

The foundation does this by empowering new voices through education, especially from under-resourced regions where press freedom is limited and journalists are vulnerable. It trains practitioners to cover their local communities and global problems and produces large-scale and long-term documentary projects that advocate change and detail solutions. It brings new and neglected perspectives to the public agenda and hosts conversations campaigning for a diverse, safe, and viable profession, especially for freelancers worldwide.