If you want to see a sparkle in Pierre-Julien Quiers’s eyes, just say the word “travel!” With a baccalaureate under his belt, he left for London, where he earned a degree in politics and economics, and took time out to discover parts of Africa and Eastern Europe. On his return to Paris, he took a course at the Institut Français de Presse and prepared for his master’s degree at Institut des Sciences Politiques. He then became the editor of ACP, before working as a freelancer for the professional press agency Paradigme. “In this business,” he admits, “what keeps me going is the prospect of going away to do a story.” He has reported from Cambodia, Vietnam and Hong Kong, assignments he funded himself, and Laos for RMC, Le Jour, La Presse, Vers l’Avenir and the Swiss daily, L’Express.
Thanks to a grant from the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation, Pierre-Julien Quiers discovered Ladakh in northern India, where in a refugee camp he met the Drogpas, Tibetan nomads who have always lived by trading salt, which they exchange for grain with Nepalese nomads. “Victims of forced sinicization,” many have fled Tibet.  Pierre-Julien chose this destination because he wanted to understand the passage of this society from nomadism to a sedentary lifestyle. He didn’t seek to learn more about these nomads “through a mere love of the exotic, but rather because they’re tough and humble; they have a lot to teach us.”

Achievements since winning the grant
In 1997, Pierre-Julien Quiers published Histoires Tibétaines with Florent-Massot (republished by Actes-Sud in 2000).
In 1998, he completed various reports for newspapers and magazines, as well as a documentary for the Arte TV channel on the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
In 1999, he compiled a report in Irian Jaya (West Papua) for the print press.
In 2000, he compiled a report for the print press on Myanmar (formerly Burma). His documentaries Le Rêve Olympique du Timor and Les Enfants du Trottoir were broadcast on Arte and France 3 the same year.
Since 2000, Pierre-Julien has worked as a journalist for France 3.
In 2005, he published Un Bel Amour en Chataigneraie with Créer.