UNDP teamed up with Olympus Corporation and the Agence France-Presse (AFP) Foundation to launch the
photo contest in June 2009.
Titled “
Picture This: Caring for the Earth”, the Contest sought to profile ordinary people working to reduce the effects of climate change in their countries, cities and communities.
“The first prize winners are Jacob Otieno, a Kenyan newspaper photo editor, in the professional category; Faiza Hajji Wozniak, a social entrepreneur from Morocco, in the photo essay category and Simon Ndegwa, a Kenyan youth pastor in the amateur category,” UNDP announced in a statement.
Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator, said “These photographs will help carry the message to Copenhagen that the poorest and most vulnerable stand to lose the most from climate change, and must be part of any agreement.” The winners received certificate of acknowledgement from UNDP, and digital cameras and camera equipment from Olympus Corporation.
The five judges of the contest included Nobel Peace Prize winner and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai; Mark Garten, Chief of Photography at the United Nations; The Vale of Kashmir author and photojournalist John Isaac; South Africa’s most internationally acclaimed photographer Peter Magubane, and former AFP Photo Director and New York bureau chief Paola Messana.
Related LinksUNDP press statement
