As Commonwealth Heads of Government convene in Malta this weekend they will be presented with images from landmark photography exhibition, Time to See. The exhibition which was privately viewed by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales aims to bring to the attention of the Commonwealth and the world the impact of avoidable blindness, and the solutions readily available to end it. There are 98 million people in the Commonwealth today who are blind or have low vision, yet four out of five needn't be. There are straightforward, known solutions that can make an incalculable difference to the lives of millions of individuals and families who are unnecessarily affected.
Five multi-award winning photojournalists, Ashley Gilbertson, Poulomi Basu, Sam Faulkner, Andrew Quilty and Adam Ferguson, visited seven countries across the Commonwealth - Australia, Fiji, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda - to document the impact completely avoidable forms of blindness are having on people and communities.
Time to See highlights work that The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and Standard Chartered, through its Seeing is Believing programme, are developing and supporting to prevent avoidable blindness.
Dr Astrid Bonfield CBE, Chief Executive of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee said,
"To be able to present these impactful images to Commonwealth Heads of Government and their delegations is an incredible opportunity. Time to See demonstrates the unparalleled work that our partners are delivering across the Commonwealth to save the sight of millions. Bringing the exhibition to CHOGM will help raise the awareness of the sad, and often unknown reality that 80% of blindness is avoidable. We hope that these striking images, taken by of some of the Commonwealth's leading photographers, will harness the awareness and further support of others to help us achieve our ultimate goal of ending avoidable blindness across the Commonwealth."
Richard Pattle, Vice Chairman of Standard Chartered Private Bank, and a member of the Bank's Seeing is Believing Management Committee, added,
"These remarkable images highlight the numerous and diverse forms of blindness which affect tens of millions of people around the world. Since 2003, Standard Chartered Bank, through its employee-driven Seeing is Believing initiative, has raised over 82million USD to help eradicate avoidable blindness. Through our strategic partnership with The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust over the last two years, we continue to make a significant impact across the Commonwealth. Standard Chartered Bank is immensely proud to stand alongside the Trust in presenting this landmark exhibition, and hope that it will act as a call to arms to help end avoidable blindness."
The exhibition will tour the Commonwealth throughout 2016.