The Wisdom of the Human Race
Danielle et Olivier Föllmi
Rapho
I am a photographer of the human race, born at the meeting point of French, Swiss and Italian civilizations. I am the author of some twenty books and lived in villages in the Himalayas before traveling the world. In my position as a photographer, I have opposed violence by focusing on the human family, and have endeavored to report on the dignity of men and women who, despite often harsh living conditions, radiate inner strength.
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My wife, Danielle, spent her childhood in various Latin American countries. She is a doctor and has worked on three continents specializing in anesthesia and intensive care. After first working on pain, she investigated suffering in general. Within the broad scope of this approach both scientific and human, she has pursued her humanistic quest with people who have fully embraced messages of compassion, non-violence, mutual reliance and peace. Masters from every culture and civilization have been sources of inspiration as we have developed the vast project on the wisdom of the human race, where thought and photography express and display the legacy of the great traditions of the human race. This first exhibition has been an opportunity for us to pursue this venture which will be completed by 2010. Three books have already been published:
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2003: Buddhist Wisdom for Every Day
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2004: 365 Thoughts from Indian Masters
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2005: African Wisdom for Every Day
We have founded an association named HOPE – Himalayan Organization for People & Education – to support human-scale projects in remote villages of the Himalayas. We were awarded a medal of honor by the Society for the Encouragement of Progress in Paris which grants distinctions to persons in recognition of their ongoing, personal efforts, actions and original contribution in achieving things out of the ordinary, not done by others, for the purpose of providing them, in whatever form they may take, for the benefit of the human race.