The festival covered a number of areas: people in the workplace, people’s relationship with machines, the representation of industry in the history of photography, traces of the industrial heritage in the landscape, industrial architecture, and works of art ordered by companies to artists.

Usimages 2017 included ten photography exhibits from archives and contemporary artists, practical photography workshops, guided tours, a cycle of lectures, and an initiative for the inhabitants of Creil to collect photos taken in the workplace. The 2017 Usimages prize was awarded to the best photo taken in the workplace in 2015 or 2016.

In the exhibition, visitors could discover EDF power plants, experimental laboratories for new robots, the self-representation of company employees, the world of carpentry, the working time of employees in the petrochemical sector, the creation of the RER, etc.

What uses can be made of workplace photos?

Usimages invites reflection on the uses of workplace photography: a means of information on economic and social development, a denunciation of difficult working conditions, a tool for companies to show their know-how, performances, etc. 

An educational pack was given to teachers to prepare the visits.

For further information: Usimages 2017

Click on the following links for our articles about the representation of the economy in photos: Progrès ou déclin en photos, Photographie-moi la confiance, the analysis of our educational project: Photographier l’économie and bibliographie « L’économie en images ».

The main features of the strategy are the following.

• It draws on the recommendations and principles laid down by the OECD and the G20.
• It is also part of the national plan for combating poverty and fostering social inclusion, launched in 2013.
• It is based on the analysis and proposals put forward by the Comité consultatif du secteur financier (Advisory Committee on the Financial Sector – CCSF) in its 2015 report.
• It is aimed at a wide audience and especially young people and people in financial difficulty.
• The strategy federates the actions of the various players already involved: public authorities (Ministries of the Economy and Finance, Education, Agriculture, Social Affairs, the Banque de France, the Autorité des marchés financiers), financial sector professionals, associations for consumer protection and the fight against exclusion, etc.
• The role of operator for the implementation of the strategy has been entrusted to the Banque de France, which is already charged with processing cases of over-indebtedness and informing the public on issues linked to bank accessibility. It has signed agreements with a large number of education authorities. It has launched, in the field of economic education, the project of the Cité de l’économie et de la monnaie and the citeco.fr website. As operator of the financial education strategy, the Banque de France will act in close liaison with the various players concerned, in particular with two Citéco partners: the Ministry of Education and the Institut pour l’éducation financière du public (“La finance pour tous”).
• In early 2017, the dedicated web portal “Mes questions d’argent” will be put online, ensuring the widespread dissemination of financial education products and establishing a link to the sites of the different players.
• In the second quarter of 2017, emphasis will be placed on the provision of educational resources for social workers.
• In the second half of 2017, information kits, drawn up in partnership with the Ministries of the Education and Agriculture, will be made available to teachers.

For more information on the national strategy, and to see the CCSF report and the video of the press conference of 20 December 2016, click here.

The three-day festival will feature conferences, round-table debates, a comic strip and book fair, geographical cafés, workshops, exhibitions, films and even, this year, a junior FIG festival.

As geography and the economy are closely linked, several of the festival events focus on economic themes: innovation in transport and regional economies, acceleration and finance, mobility and migration, development imbalances, urbanity and rurality, digital economy, pace of exploitation of natural resources and sustainable development, “slow” movement, etc.

Like each year, the Geospatial Science Fair will showcase new methods and technologies for observing, analysing and representing the territories.

For more information, visit the International Festival of Geography website.

Also with regard to the Geospatial Science Fair, you can now access the new enhanced version of our data visualisation tool for viewing maps using anamorphosis: “See the world differently”.