Submit your photos for the chance to win this year’s prestigious award, and tell the world about microfinance and financial inclusion. Winners receive considerable exposure, and become part of a global community of photographers who share a twin passion for photography and advancing financial access for the world’s poor. This year, with the debut of our “People’s Choice” prize, you’ll have even more chances to win. Read on for further details about the contest categories, the prizes that will be awarded, and how to enter.
Is there a moment or a place where you’ve witnessed the impact of finance in helping poor people manage their own lives? Has your lens captured people using finance in nontraditional ways, or innovations in financial service delivery? We’re looking for photos that capture the ways in which finance is woven into the fabric of poor people’s day-to-day activities, and how financial inclusion can make their lives easier or better.A total of 25 finalists may be selected for the 2012 CGAP Photo Contest. Judges will award first, second, and third prize winners. A winner from each region may also be selected. The images tell a story, so the judges may also consider the description you attach to each photo entry. A separate category for the People’s Choice winner will also be awarded the top prize.
The winning images are published by CGAP and displayed online. Winning images may be printed for exhibition in partnership with others who share our mission to advance financial inclusion around the world. 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 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 and financial inclusion around the world. These images may reflect a range of products and services, 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 caption with a brief description of the photo and how it reflects advances in access to finance, as well as the place and country where the photo was taken.
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 financial inclusion or microfinance
Entries will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact, and artistic merit. The story behind the photo, submitted as a few lines in the entry form, may influence the judges’ decisions. Decisions made by the judges are final.
JUDGES: Judges will include professional photographers.
WHEN: All entries must be submitted online and received by CGAP before midnight EST 3 September 2012.
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.
All entries may be used by CGAP in printed publications, on Web sites, in a slideshow, 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 Photo Contest. CGAP shall have the right to verify, in its sole judgment, winner eligibility.
LEGAL CONDITIONS: By entering the contest, you must agree to the Terms and Conditions. Entry of photographs into the Contest implies acceptance of Contest rules, regardless of whether entrants sign a statement confirming acceptance. Click here for descriptions of this year’s Legal Conditions.
PRIZES: CGAP intends to award the following prizes:
One People’s Choice winner
- A US$2000 gift certificate for photography equipment and accessories
- Winner’s certificate
One Grand Prize winner
- A US$2000 gift certificate for photography equipment and accessories
- Winner’s certificate
One Second Prize winner
- US$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 the photographer’s country of residence): Europe/North America, Latin America/Caribbean, East and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia/Pacific.
- US$200 in photography equipment
- Winner’s certificate
Fourteen (14) Winners from across all the categories
- US$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. Entries may be entered by uploading digital files. Digital entries: Camera-made digital images or scans of prints should be uploaded to photocontest.cgap.org. Original files of camera-made digital photos must be three (3) megapixels or larger. 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, according to information provided with their submission. 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: Upload entries to: http://photocontest.cgap.org. For questions regarding the 2012 photo contest, please contact, Jeanette Thomas, CGAP Communications Director or Michael Rizzo, Digital Media Coordinator.