The European Commission challenges you to “Imagine a new world”… through photography.In the context of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation (EYCI) 2009, the European Commission has just launched the “Imagine a new world” photo competition.

Professional and amateur photographers of all ages from across the EU are invited to express their creativity. A prestigious jury will select the winners who will receive prizes in photographic equipment and trips to EU cities. The competition has a dedicated website: www.imagine2009.eu . The deadline to submit the photos is 31 August 2009.
Imagination is a vital faculty for the human being: imagination helps provide meaning to experience and understanding to knowledge; it is thanks to imagination that we can make sense of the world. In these times of rapid change, we need to be flexible and creative, to make full use of our imagination and capacity for innovation and to project ourselves into the future.

The European Commission is inviting all professional and amateur photographers, photography students and all other talents to submit their photos to the “Imagine a new world” photo competition. It is open to anyone who is a resident of an EU Member State, of a candidate country or of Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, and who shares our passion for photography.

The “Imagine a new world” competition jury will be chaired by Professor of Photography and president of the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA) Chris Wainwright. The entries will be judged by an international jury of renowned professionals from the fields of photography and the arts who will select the winners: Claude Bussac, Director of PhotoEspaña, Spain; François Hébel, Director of the Rencontres d’Arles, France; Orsolya Kőrösi, Managing Director of the Hungarian House of Photography, Hungary; Vangelis Ioakimidis, Director of the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Greece; Elina Brotherus, photographer and video artist, Finland; Klavdij Sluban, French photographer of Slovenian origin.

The European public will be asked to select the winner of the “Public’s Favourite Award” through an online voting process. The four winners of the competition will receive important prizes in cameras, photographic equipment, trips to European cities and wide recognition of their talent on the European scene.

The photo competition is one of several events organised by the European Commission in the framework of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 (EYCI). Under the slogan “Imagine, Create, Innovate”, the EYCI 2009 aims to raise awareness of the importance of creativity and innovation as key competences for personal, social and economic development. By emphasizing creativity and innovation, the EU aims at shaping Europe’s future in a global competition by fostering the creative and innovative potential in all of us.

To find out more:
Official website of the competition: www.imagine2009.eu

Official website of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation: