Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- The Other Hundred , a photo-book project featuring 100 photo stories of people across 91 countries , launched its first exhibition in Hong Kong on Thursday . The project takes aim at media rankings such as the Forbes Billionaire List and is instead dedicated to people whose lives deserve recognition but who would never make the cut , said Chandran Nair , creator of the project and CEO of the Global Institute For Tomorrow ( GIFT ) , an independent pan-Asian think tank based in Hong Kong . `` The goal of The Other Hundred is both to inform and to provoke thought . The implication of many of the rich lists and articles put out by the media is that being rich is the only way to succeed or live a life of meaning . The reality is that the majority of the people are not rich and we wanted to tell their side of the story , '' Nair said . `` It 's ridiculous there are such lists like the world 's 100 most beautiful people when they really look nothing like me or you , '' Nair added . GIFT received 12,000 submissions from 1,500 photographers in 156 countries . Nair , together with five other judges selected 100 for the accompanying photo book , published in July . The book includes short essays by acclaimed writers , such as author Pankaj Mishra , renowned Chinese poet Bei Dao and award winning journalist Amy Goodman . While the project aimed to shed light on the unspoken majority , Nair said that it does not attempt to celebrate poverty or criticize wealth . `` We 're trying to provoke people to define for themselves what it means to have a rich and fulfilled life . We 're not trying to criticize those who seek material wealth , but the reality is that not everyone aspires to be rich , and not everybody can , '' Nair said . `` You can tell the world is crying out for a more nuanced look at the human condition . '' One of the winning photographers , Theodore Kaye , said that he appreciated how the project also challenged the commercialization of the editorial market for professional photographers like himself . `` There 's a lot of pressure to deliver what the media wants and everybody at some point is going to bow down to it , '' Kaye said . `` The project shows how life as it is for normal people and things as they truly are . '' What was most important , said Nair , was photographers ' connection to the photo narratives . `` We did n't want to pick the photographer who parachuted into Afghanistan and got the photo of the exotic young girl in the shadows . We want a name to put to the faces and a story to tell , '' Nair said . The exhibition will move next to Mumbai , New York , Beijing and Berlin in 2014 . GIFT plans to follow the project with `` The Other Hundred Entrepreneurs '' in 2015 .
The Other Hundred , a project featuring 100 photo stories , launched its first exhibition . The project takes aim at media rankings such as the Forbes Billionaire List . CEO : `` We 're trying to provoke people to define for themselves what it means to have a rich and fulfilled life '' The exhibition will move next to Mumbai , New York , Beijing and Berlin in 2014 .