Get your cameras ready and let your imagination fly! The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) invites you to participate in a photography competition dedicated to young members of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Through the competition, WIPO aims to celebrate and make widely known the creativity of these talented young people. Young people are encouraged to convey an impactful message about their peoples, communities and culture through photographic storytelling.
The theme of the Photography Competition is: “How We Wear Our Culture is How We Tell Our Stories”. Young people are invited to take and submit photographs that deliver an important message about their communities’ traditional clothing.
The photographs can depict clothing that reflects cultural identity and significance, emboding traditional or contemporary motifs that are tradition-based and still reflective of the community’s cultural identity, it may be everyday clothing or garments, textiles or clothes worn for special occasions. “Clothing” can also include headdresses, footwear or jewelry.
To participate, you must take an original photograph related to the announced theme and accompany the image by a brief description on how the photograph reflects to and expresses your feelings about the theme. Include a creative title as well as a brief personal profile about yourself and your local community. These materials should be prepared in one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish.
Entries can be submitted by July 2, 2023. Shortlisted and winning photographs will be announced on the WIPO official website.
Winners will receive a variety of awards, including professional photography equipment with a total value of up to:
- 1st place: CHF 3,500
- 2nd place: CHF 2,500
- 3rd place: CHF 1,500.
To be eligible to participate, you must be members of Indigenous Peoples or local communities located in one of the 193 WIPO’s Member States, of which the Republic of Moldova is also a party, and be under 30 years old on the closing date for submissions (July 2, 2023 ). For participants not of legal age (e.g., 18 years old), authorization to participate in the Competition from a legal guardian is required.
Photographs will be judged according to their expression of the theme, originality, creativity and artistic expression, inspirational power, visual appeal and community-related impact.
Through this competition, WIPO wishes to emphasize the importance of copyright and the protection of traditional cultural expressions, raising awareness among young participants and their communities of this field.
So, capture the essence of local culture and convey an impactful message through photography. By participating in WIPO’s photography competition, you can make yourself heard, seen and recognized for your creativity around the world!
More details about the Rules of the Competition as well as the eligibility criteria can be found at the following address: https://www.wipo.int/tk/en/youth_prize.html.
