Founded in the Netherlands in 1955, World Press Photo Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Amsterdam , the Netherlands . Its mission is to stimulate the highest quality in photojournalism on an international scale, going beyond geographical, political and cultural boundaries.

The World Press Photo exhibition is the organization's best known activity. It is the public showcase of photojournalism and displays the visual creativity of the profession. The format of the exhibition starts with the annually held press photography contest. The exhibition brings together the year's winning photo with award-winning images from each of the ten contest categories: Spot News, General News, People in the News, Nature, Contemporary Issues, Sports Action, Sports Features, Daily Life, Portraits, and Arts and Entertainment.