Born in 1970 in Belgium, Olivier Papegnies became a photojournalist in 1997 after studying photography in Belgium.

Based in Brussels, his reports are published in the Belgian and international press. He regularly collaborates with different NGOs such as Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World), Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Amnesty International, Handicap International…

He received the Special Jury Prize at the Scoop and Journalism Festival in Angers for his work on Agent Orange in Vietnam « Apocalypse Children », the European « Lorenzo Natali » prize in 2009 for his report « Bophal, 25 years later », the Belfius prize in 2010 for the best press photography in Belgium, the NPPA in 2011 (Nikon Press Photo Award) for its report on the earthquake in Haiti and received a grant from the Belgian Fund for Journalism to carry out a work on love and mental handicap in Belgium. He won the Journalism Prize of the Wallonia-Brussels Parliament in 2012 for this work entitled « Fous d’Amour ».

In 2016, he received a grant from the Belgian Fund for Journalism to carry out a survey on Christians in Lebanon.

In 2017, he again received a grant from the Belgian Fund for Journalism to investigate self-defence groups, the Koglweogo in Burkina Faso.

In 2018, he was awarded a prize at the International Festival of Photojournalism in Perpignan « Visa pour l’image », he received the Golden Visa of the digital press for his report « Koglweogo, mirror of a state failure ».

In 2018, he was a finalist at the Photo Circle Festival in Vilnius with his report « Koglweogo, mirror of a state failure ».

In 2019, he was awarded 2nd prize in the non-profit category at the Festival della Fotografia Etica in Italy for his work on unwanted pregnancies in Ivory Coast.

In 2020, he received a World Press Photo in the Sport Stories category for his work on women’s football « Les Gazelles de Gouandé » in Benin.