ADIL is an Arabic name derived from the Arabic word "Adl" which means "fairness" and "justice"

An original idea by André Liohn with: Lynsey Addario, Eric Bouvet, Bryan Denton, Christopher Morris, Jehad Nga, Finbarr O'Reilly and Paolo Pellegrin.

THE PROJECT

The ADIL project's purpose is to contribute to the Reconciliation process for Libyan People facing the aftermath of the civil war. The core concept of the project is to use Visual Communication as a Bridge for Reconciliation.

International photographers who lived the conflict "on the ground" offer independent visual documentation of the war and are partnering with local organizations to bring four exhibitions to four Libyan cities - Benghazi, Misratah, Tripoli and Zintan - scheduled for the spring 2012, one year after the eruption of the conflict against the Ghaddafi regime.

The aim is to put these exhibitions at the service of dialogue, we do not want to impose a reality, we are knocking at doors wishing to be welcome. During the period of the exhibitions some of the photographers will come to Libya to participate in events linked to ADIL, such as workshops with local photographers and journalists, and panel debates with local activists organizations. These events will be organized by our local partners, among them: The Tripoli Post, the Art Gallery Art House of Tripoli, the artist Mohammad Bin Lamin, the Libyan lawyer and activist Rima Bugaighis.

It is our aim to create a neutral arena were different people, with different opinions, expectations and experiences of the war, will be invited to see and react to how independent eyes saw their reality.

RECONCILIATION

In the period of transition "war-to-peace" photographs can help people to accept the past and to lay the foundations for the new civil and social contract.An independent visual documentation is a bridge for building the memory for today and tomorrow.

The photo collection will remain as a visual legacy for the Libyan people, as an encouraging assurance: “Pictures can not change the world, but the eyes who see them can".Political and social violence does not end with the last casualty. A common challenge facing all the aftermaths is the risk of manipulation of the civilians’ memory and perception.

The formulation of a shared vision and understanding among the civilians in transitional societies is decisive for securing reconciliation and more broadly social regeneration.

The first months of aftermath are crucial for the country’s and its people stability and long-term prosperity. Peace, individual liberty, reconstruction must be pursued together with security and disarmament. Reconciliation is necessary, combined with the settlement of all claims for justice by the victims of the war.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION: PHOTOJOURNALISM

Photography is a very valuable communication instrument because it is universally accessible and understood and it bridges socio-economic and linguistic barriers. Photographs are witnesses of the broken relations and can contribute to the healing of societies. The vision of images related to conflicts increases viewers understanding of the conflict. For viewers who experienced traumatic events, seeing the photographs can help them to understand and to forgive.

PRODUCTION

To cover the project's costs we are involving different entities, such as NGOs and other organizations, local businesses, and International media partners. To administrate the funds collected, the photographers created a non-profit association called ADIL.

CURATORS

Photographer Paolo Pellegrin, who is a member at Magnum Photos and Winner of numerous awards, including 9 World Press Photo and the Robert Capa Gold Medal, and curator Annalisa D'Angelo, who has curated shows such as "Black Mountains" by Paolo Pellegrin and "Haiti 2010" by Larry Towell, Bruce Gilden, Paolo Pellegrin and Peter van Agtmael.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Claudio Jampaglia, Gaia Mazzolini, Samuele Pellecchia (Prospekt Photographers agency) and André Liohn.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks to the photo agencies: VII, Corbis, Prospekt, Reuters.We choose the name "ADIL-Almost Dawn in Libya" in memory of the photojournalists Tim Hetherington, Chris Hondros and Anton Hammerl.

Sebastian Junger (Tim's best friend and co producer of Restrepo), Chris' brother Dean Hondros and Anton's wife Penny Sukhraj loved the idea of ADIL and decided to share a message of their feelings about the Libyan revolution and the loss of their friends and family. They each produced a text included in the exhibition and catalogue. To all of them our thankfulness.

TO OUR BACKERS:

Adil project does not ask donations for the photographers to carry out photographic missions. Adil project calls for the support of backers to create the 4 photographic exhibitions in Libya and to organize all the related events, suggesting documentary photography as a possible bridge for Reconciliation.

The photographers and their photo agencies offer the rights to use the images for the exhibitions for free. We are relying on you to make the exhibition happen and we wish to express our gratitude in advance to all those who want to support us.