The Photo Contest is now open for entries. Winners receive considerable exposure the world over, and become part of a global community of professional and nonprofessional photographers who share a twin passion for photography and microfinance.
You can enter up to 20 photos for a chance to win. Read on for further details on how to enter the Contest and for information about the prizes, and then click on the entry form link to the right to submit your photos.
Over the past few years we’ve asked you to use your imagination in capturing the diversity and dynamism of microfinance. As a result, stunning images have been shared with the microfinance community and others around the world. This year, we’re asking you to focus on how microfinance touches the world—the sights, the sounds, the tastes, and the textures. By sharing your images, you’ll reach countless others with the message of microfinance, and you will help us tell the story of this remarkable industry: its unique textures, vibrant new developments, and impact on the lives of poor people.
Is there a moment or a place where you’ve witnessed the impact of microfinance on poor people’s ability to manage their own lives? Has your lens captured people using finance in nontraditional ways or having financial services delivered to them in innovative ways? Have you seen microfinance respond to the global financial crisis, the food crisis, natural disasters, or local conditions? We’re looking for photos of microfinance touching the lives of poor clients, or more broadly impacting the world we live in.
A total of 30 finalists will be selected for the 2011 CGAP Microfinance Photography Contest. Judges will award first, second, and third place winners, as well as special mentions. Because photos tell a story, take a moment to capture your photo’s story in the explanation that you submit along with your photo entry—your explanation may also be considered by the judges.
The winning photos are published by CGAP and displayed online. They will be uploaded onto the CGAP Microfinance Photography Contest Flickr page, and included in a slideshow that will be shared with the industry for use at conferences. Winning images may be printed for exhibition in partnership with the World Bank and Citi. In addition to the opportunity to put their photos before the eyes of the world, winning photographers may receive the prizes listed below.
WHO: The CGAP Microfinance Photo Contest is open to all photographers at least 18 years of age, except the operational team of CGAP, the World Bank, and their immediate families.
WHAT: We are looking for original, striking images of the impact of microfinance around the world. These images may reflect the wide variety of microfinance and microenterprise development around the world, representing a range of products, institutions, and methodologies, and may touch on a broad range of social, economic, developmental, and technological issues. We encourage entries from all regions, in both rural and urban settings. Each photo submission must be accompanied by a brief description of the photo, including the place and country where the photo was taken, how it tells the story of microfinance and reflects advances in access to finance.
Entries must be:
- The original work of the entrant
- Non-infringing of the rights of others
- Respectful of the rights, sensitivities, and culture of persons depicted
- An accurate reflection of the subject matter and scene as it appeared, without alteration (other than standard optimization, including removal of dust, cropping, adjustments to color and contrast, etc.)
- A depiction of microfinance and/or microenterprise development in one or more of the following categories:
- General
- Innovation in delivery, particularly through new technologies, institutions, or infrastructure
- Microfinance and the environment
- Impact
Entries will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact, and artistic merit. The story behind the photo, submitted as a paragraph or brief essay, may influence the judges’ decisions. Decisions made by the judges are final.
JUDGES: Judges will include professional photographers and microfinance leaders. The judges for the 2010 Microfinance Photography Contest were Suzanne Lemakis, curator of Citi’s fine arts collection; Norris Brock, Emmy award winning director of photography, and freelance photojournalist Joshua Roberts.
WHEN: All entries, whether submitted electronically or mailed or shipped, must be received by CGAP before noon EST 15 September 2011. CGAP will not be held responsible for mail that was not received. Receipt of packages cannot be acknowledged. Entries will not be returned.
WINNING ENTRIES: Prizes will be awarded as described below. A selection of winning photos may be featured on CGAP’s Web sites, cgap.org and microfinancegateway.org, and in exhibitions at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and other prestigious venues. Winning images also may be used to decorate CGAP offices and in a slideshow for use at conferences and workshops.
All entries may be used by CGAP in printed publications, on Web sites, in a slideshow and screensaver, or in any other media, and may be copied and displayed in any country, provided that all uses are accompanied by appropriate attribution to the photographer. Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to future use of their photographs. CGAP holds copyright to the collection of photos that constitute the CGAP Microfinance Photo Contest. CGAP shall have the right to verify, in its sole judgment, winner eligibility.
LEGAL CONDITIONS: To enter the contest, entrants must agree to certain legal conditions (see section “Legal Conditions” in the Entry Form). Entry of photographs into the Contest implies acceptance of Contest rules, regardless of whether entrants sign a statement confirming acceptance.
PRIZES: CGAP intends to award the following prizes:
One Grand Prize winning package
- A Microfinance Training Scholarship to the Boulder Program in Turin, Italy, (including economy airfare) or another development training opportunity agreed with CGAP up to a maximum value of $5000
Or
- A $2000 gift certificate for photography equipment and accessories
- Winner's certificate
One Second Prize winner
- $500 gift certificate for photography equipment
- Winner’s certificate
One Third Prize winner
- $250 gift certificate for photography equipment
- Winner’s certificate
One winner from each region (based on where the photo was taken): Latin America/Caribbean; Eastern Europe and Central Asia , Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa; South Asia; and East Asia and Pacific.
- $200 in photography equipment
- Winner’s certificate
Fifteen (15) Winners from across all the categories
- $50 gift certificate for photography equipment + winner’s certificate
Any federal, state, and local taxes, fees, and surcharges on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winners.
HOW: A total of up to 20 photographs may be submitted per person. We prefer to receive digital entries by e-mail, but entries may be digital files, digital prints, color prints, or black-and-white prints.
Digital entries: Camera-made digital images or scans of prints should be e-mailed as high-resolution jpegs or tiff files. Each entrant also must submit a completed Application Form. Original negatives must be available for scanned photographs. Original files of camera-made digital photos must be three (3) megapixels or larger.
Mailed or shipped entries: Each photograph must bear the photographer’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address, if applicable, entry number (1–20), and a brief description of the photo and how it reflects advancing financial access to people through microfinance. All images must be sent together in one package. Repeat this information one time on a separate, single sheet of paper; include your occupation/microfinance affiliation; a description of the type of film and photography equipment used for each photo; and a brief description of where, when, and how the photograph was taken. Please do not send a cover letter. Negatives must be available for all prints, but please do not send them until contacted.
Prints may be mounted, but print and/or mount size must be no larger than 11 inches by 14 inches. Sandwich sheets or prints between cardboard, wrap with a rubber band, and enclose in a mailing envelope. Do not use tape. Entries will not be returned. CGAP cannot be responsible for lost, damaged, late or misdirected entries, or for faulty uploading connections, garbled transmissions, unauthorized intervention, or technical malfunctions.
Winners will be notified by e-mail or telephone, according to information provided on the entry form. If any winner fails to claim his or her prize within 60 days of being notified, that winner may forfeit his or her prize.
WHERE: Send mailed or shipped entries to:
CGAP Microfinance Photography Contest
900 19th Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: +1 202 473 9594
Inquiries and entries can also be sent by e-mail to Jeanette Thomas at jthomas1@cgap.org, CGAP Communications Director.
Moreinfo: http://www.cgap.org/p/site/c/template.rc/1.26.16426
