Wadner Pierre is an award-winning and trilingual freelance photojournalist and founder and co-editor of UnlessWeCare.org. He was born in a beautiful southern town in the Artibonite Department called St. Marc. He stand in the footstep of the man whom he called his adoptive father, Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste who spent his whole life fighting for social justice and equality in my native country, Haiti.
In July 2006, his career in photojournalism begun with a Kodak 4.0 pixel. he started writing short articles in English about the persistently political persecution against the people in Cite Soleil— known as one of the largest slums in the Western Hemisphere. Those acts were frequently ignored in national and international media, and as a result encouraged me to work harder to expose the truth. I published articles in English and French. Wadner’s photojournalist work in the past several years has been published amongst the world’s professional photojournalists.
Throughout his career human rights and social justice have been the center of his work, and Wadner said that they will remain the center of his work for as long as it may take. He has contributed hundreds of articles and thousands of pictures to change the socio-political and social justice in his native country, Haiti. His work is featured in many national and international outlets media such as Inter Press Service-North America or IPS, Aljazeera English and Gambit one of New Orleans prestigious weekly newspapers. His photographs have also been featured in the book On that Day Everybody Ate authored by Margaret Trost.
Many people say that one’s profession often finds them, if this is true, Wadner was not found by accident; his profession is a calling. His passion for journalism and photography was influenced by many people and events in his life; one of those many people that impacted his career was his adoptive father. Rev. Jean-juste and Wadner co-hosted a Saturday radio show for nearly 9 years to connect the Haitians who live abroad to those in Haiti.
Wadner said, he has no doubt that, today, being a photojournalist is the right profession for him. Over 500 years ago, Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits said, “Go forth and set the world on fire.” For him, this means, use your knowledge to bring peace, justice into the world. His camera and his writings will be used to tell the truth and only the truth.
Wadner attended Loyola University New Orleans to pursue his dream of becoming a renown photojournalist. There, he studied mass communications/photojournalism with a minor in sociology.
During his undergraduate studies at Loyola University, he occupied many leadership positions at the university student newspaper, The Maroon, and the Wolf magazine as photo editor, managing photo editor, multimedia editor, writer and senior staff photographer. The Maroon ranks as one of the top student newspapers in the United States. Among Wadner’s many accolades, in 2012, he received the 2013 Loyola School of Mass Communication Outstanding Photojournalist Award for being the most excellent photojournalist student at the school; he won the 2012 Society of Professional Journalism Region 12, first place for Feature Photography in the category small college.
His passion for photojournalism and social justice continues to be influenced by his professional and educational experiences. Photojournalist defines the man he is and the man he will be. He always believes a better world is possible with good journalistic works, and that is why him and other passionate photojournalists around the world long in this journey, looking for truth and using our camera and writings to change the world.
Wadner Pierre completed a Master’s degree in International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, with a focus on International Security and Human Development .
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