Launch of the 2nd Edition of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Environmental Photography Award

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation launches the 2nd edition of its Environmental Photography Award, in partnership with Barclays Private Bank and SEK International University.

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Environmental Photography Award was launched in 2021, in honour of the Foundation’s 15th anniversary. This annual award was created with the aim to reward photographers who put their creativity to good use in raising awareness on environmental protection.

Photographers will be invited to reflect on our relationship towards nature and interrelation between human health and planetary health.

 

“We are proud to launch this 2nd edition of the Environmental Photography Award. It is an opportunity for us to celebrate the beauty of nature, while casting a light on the environmental challenges we face. By highlighting the interconnections between humans and a healthy planet, we hope to foster the collective awareness that will lead to change. The images from the first edition exceeded all our expectations and we are looking forward to the second edition.” declares Olivier Wenden, Vice-President and CEO of the Foundation.

Entries are open from 19 January to 20 March 2022 on the dedicated platform, Photocrowd. Photographers are now welcome to submit up to five photographs in each of the five categories of the competition:

• Polar Wonders
• Beneath the Canopy
• Life Under the Surface
• Humanity versus Nature
• Towards a Sustainable Future

Files can be uploaded to the Award’s webpage: https://www.photocrowd.com/pa2faward/

 

Jury

The jury, made up of professional photographers, will select the winner of the Foundation's Environmental Photography Award as well as the winners for the five categories of the contest.

The public will also be able to vote for their favourite photographs directly on the award's page.

 

Judges panel

• Daisy Gilardini, President of the Jury, Environmental photographer specialized in polar regions;
• Ragnar Axelsson a.k.a. RAX, Photojournalist & documentary photographer spécialized in the Arctic;
• Laurent Ballesta, Photographer & co-founder of Andromède Océanologie ;
• Nick Danziger, Photojournalist, Honorary member of the Royal Photographic Society, Ness Award recipient of the Royal Geographical Society;
• Frederick Dharshie Wissah, Humanitarian and environmental photojournalist, Grand Title winner of the “CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 2019” Award;
• Sergio Pitamitz, Conservation and wildlife photographer, National Geographic contract photographer for National Geographic Expeditions;
• Kathleen Ricker, Wildlife photographer and laureate of the “PA2F Environmental Photographer of the Year 2021” Award;
• Ami Vitale, National Geographic Magazine Photographer and filmmaker. 

 

Prizes

The winner of the Foundation's Environmental Photography Award will receive the sum of 5,000 euros and the great privilege of travelling to Ecuador to visit the SEK International University's research base in the Amazon rainforest. The winners in each of the categories and the winner of the public award will each receive a prize of 1000 euros.

 

Touring Exhibition

Winning and shortlisted images will be featured in an outdoor exhibition in Monaco, in the summer of 2022. An opening event will take place in the presence of the members of the Award Jury and the Grand Prize winner.

The “Humanity & Wildlife” exhibition that followed the inaugural 2021 edition of the Award opened in Monaco in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and was met with great success. 46 of the best photographs selected by the Jury were presented in the Monaco Casino Gardens. The exhibition has since traveled to Rome, on the Piazza del Campidoglio, with more than 70,000 visitors, and then to the Giardino dei Liburni, San Marino in 2021 where it had more than 13,000 visitors. Further exhibitions will be presented throughout 2022, with the aim of raising awareness of the need to preserve our planet.

 

About the categories

Polar Wonders

Photographers are invited to submit their most beautiful images depicting landscapes, wildlife and local communities in the polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic).

Beneath the Canopy

This category aims to highlight the beauty of the flora and fauna that make up the forest ecosystem and the lives of native communities in the boreal, temperate and tropical forests.

Life Under the Surface

This category welcomes photographs that illustrate the incredible richness of the underwater world, both in terms of aquatic landscapes and the wildlife inhabiting the ocean.

Humanity versus Nature

Images submitted to this category should depict the conflicting relationship between humans and nature, as well as the negative impact of human activities on the environment. Photographs should address the issues related to the consequences of climate change (droughts, deforestation, extreme climate events…), the terrible loss of biodiversity (endangered species, disastrous interactions between humans and wildlife…), as well as the depletion of the world’s water resources. Images can be taken anywhere in the world, from the most remote to the most populated areas, from the warmest to the coldest parts of the globe.

Towards a Sustainable Future

This category is dedicated to images that highlight the efforts, actions and solutions implemented globally by communities in order to build a more sustainable world and more harmonious relationships between man and nature. This category welcomes images that demonstrate hope for Humanity and for the Planet. Photographs could illustrate actions undertaken by civil society in favour of environmental protection.