Noor is inviting photographers to apply to join its photo agency and foundation, and become part of an institution that includes photographers such as Nina Berman, Philip Blenkinsop, Pep Bonet, Alixandra Fazzina, Jan Grarup, Stanley Greene, Yuri Kozyrev, Kadir van Lohuizen, Jon Lowenstein and Francesco Zizola.

Applicants to the photo agency "should demonstrate an ability to identify and produce stories at the highest standards of journalistic and ethical integrity," says the agency. "Noor is looking for photographers with a distinct signature and visual excellence, who share the ideals and mission of [the agency]: to contribute to a growing understanding of the world."

Selected new members will have to spend one year with the agency before becoming full members. Once they are approved, they will be obliged to purchase shares in the agency and attend annual meetings, as well as "contribute dynamically and responsibly to the Noor Foundation and to the business of the
agency to collectively and actively promote and sell."

The Noor Foundation is a non-profit organisation whose goal is to create and distribute compelling photo-journalistic works with the aim to raise awareness and to contribute to the visual history of mankind, says the agency.

Applicants must send a selection of no more than 50 images from several feature stories, alongside a covering letter written in English. Deadline for entries is 05 August.

For more information and to enter, contact the agency's managing director Claudia Hinterseer at office@noorimages.com.