Ethical Photography Contest: 4 Guidelines, 4 Examples, $100 Prize

April 2, 2015

There are many more photos representing ethical partnership, learning, and service across cultures than we have seen in the contest thus far. You suggested the original contest guidelines were too long. We listened. The short version is below. Entry information follows.

– Ethical Photography & Global Service: 4 Principles, 4 Examples – 

1. Choose photos that represent the people truthfully and show dignity, equality, support and integrity.

MUDELFU Women’s Cooperative President Araceli del Carmen Bonilla Hernandez (left) and Foundation for Sustainable Development Intern Ellen Duvall (right) cooperate to advance sustainable, community-driven development in Tola, Nicaragua.

 2. Ensure those being represented in the images maintain the right to share their story in their own way.

Women’s Emancipation and Development Agency (WOMEDA) Executive Director Juma Massisi (seated, center) facilitates conversation among women and Amizade students in Kayanga, Tanzania, as part of research that supported a successful United States Agency for International Development grant award for WOMEDA.

3. Abstain from using photos that potentially “stereotype, sensationalise or discriminate against people, situations or places.

Ernesto Alaniz, community maintenance leader, Villanova civil engineering student Allie Braun, and Water for Waslala program manager Iain Hunt cooperate to inspect a new water tank near Santa Maria Kubali, Nicaragua.
Ernesto Alaniz, community maintenance leader, Villanova civil engineering student Allie Braun, and Water for Waslala program manager Iain Hunt cooperate to inspect a new water tank near Santa Maria Kubali, Nicaragua.

4. Use images, messages and case studies with the full understanding, participation and permission (or subjects’ parents/guardian) of the subjects.

DukeEngage students Jeline Rabideau and Jenny Denton worked with middle school girls, such as ​Katie, in Western North Carolina to enhance literacy skills through digital storytelling projects focused on their families.
DukeEngage students Jeline Rabideau and Jenny Denton worked with middle school girls, such as ​Katie, in Western North Carolina to enhance literacy skills through digital storytelling projects focused on their families.

Enter the contest by posting your photo to Instagram or Cowbird, adding a caption to say what’s happening, and tagging it with #ethicalphotography, #mutuallearning, #crossculturalcooperation, and/or #newpossibilities. Let us know you entered by tweeting it and tagging us or connecting with us on Facebook about it.

The 4 guidelines above are distilled from recommendations by respected global development organizations including The Child Rights International NetworkComhlámh, Dochas Network, How Matters, and USAID. The esteemed international judges panel looks forward to seeing your submissions.

Anyone can enter. We are accepting submissions through August 15.  

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