Istanbul Photo Awards is an international news photography contest organized by Anadolu Agency. The contest aims to contribute to the sphere of news photography and offers a perspective shaped by the region’s unique position at the center of diverse cultures. The awards reward endeavors of courageous and talented photojournalists from around the world on merit. Although it is only the fifth edition of the contest, Istanbul Photo Awards has become one of the most widely known news photography contests in the world.

Along with the generous awards of the contest aiming to support the hard work and dedication of news photographers worldwide, the application is totally free.

Istanbul Photo Awards receives a lot of attention from photojournalists from all around the world. 10,000 photographers from 150 nationalities sent almost 100,000 photographs to the contest in five years.

In 2015, Daniel Berehulak won the Photo of the Year award with his photograph depicting the Ebola crisis. In 2016, Abd Doumany’s image of an injured Syrian boy was chosen as Photo of the Year by the international jury and in 2017, photographer Frederic Lafargue’s image titled “Escaping from Daesh” was chosen Photo of the Year 2017. In 2018, Damir Sagolj won the Photo of the Year award with the image of a dead boy in refugee camp in Banglades. Ahmad Gharabli’s photo of a Palestinian women and Israeli police security officer taking photo of each other chosen as Photo of the Year 2019.

All the winning photographs have the power to engage people against wars and conflicts, and to familiarize them with different cultures. The jury had a very tough time selecting the most powerful photos of the year from such a strong field. Every year international jury meets in Turkey.

In 2019 edition, Visual Media Advisor Georges De Keerle, AFP Director of Photo Business Development Michel Scotto, Photojournalist at NOOR agency Yuri Kozyrev, Paris Match Senior Digital Broadcasting Director Marion Mertens, Photographer and Author Deborah Copaken, Anadolu Agency Visual News Editor-in-Chief Ahmet Sel and Photography Editor Fırat Yurdakul are the jury members.

Every year online applications are accepted between Nov. 1- Jan. 31 via http://istanbulphotoawards.com. The results of the contest announced by the end of jury gathering each year. Award winning photographs will be published in photobook which will be send almost everywhere all around the world to the photography professionals and displayed at significant galleries around the world such as Istanbul, Shanghai, New York, Vienna and Moscow. Turkish Airlines and Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) sponsor the contest in 2019.