Transversalidades Photo Contest

The competition is organized by Centro de Estudos Ibéricos (CEI) in Guarda, Portugal.

“ The pictures collected under this contest should portray the diversity of territories, societies and cultures of different continents.

There are four categories:

1. Landscapes, biodiversity and natural heritage.
2. Rural areas, agriculture and settlement.
3. The city and the urbanization process.
4. Culture and society: cultural diversity and social inclusion.

You must submit a portfolio of six (6) photos.

APPLICATION FORM

1. Scope and Objectives of the competition

The Center for Iberian Studies – Centro de Estudos Ibéricos (CEI)- remains committed to strengthening the cultural and scientific axis organized by Coimbra, Guarda and Salamanca and, through an active involvement in territorial cooperation, committed to low density territories, particularly the most peripheral and border ones. Based on these references and on the importance of image in contemporary societies, the project Transversalities: Photographs without Frontiers uses photography as a means of promoting the inclusion of territories and breaking with processes of exclusion to which vast areas of the planet are subjected by the media.

Pursuing objectives that coincide with those that guide CEI’s work, this Photography without Borders contest contributes to overcoming the artificial borders that are imposed between communities, peoples and cultures. The call for submissions that portray spaces beyond and beyond borders, scattered across the various continents, aims, by documenting the diversity of Territories, Societies and Cultures, to read and interpret the multiplicity of natural, economic, social and cultural landscapes that are scattered across the vast geographies of the planet. In a project that uses image as a means to promote territorial cooperation, the following issues are privileged:

taking advantage of the aesthetic, documentary and pedagogical value of the image to promote the inclusion of less visible territories, inventory resources, enhance local landscapes, cultures and heritage;
to promote cooperation between people, institutions and territories, from here and from abroad, to encourage the exchange of experiences and knowledge between spaces united by the common Iberian matrix, spread across different countries and several continents;
to form new audiences and use new communication technologies as a privileged means of communication, appealing to the participation of young university students and, in this way, to widen the international network of researchers that is being organised from the CEI.

2. Themes

The pictures collected under this contest should portray the diversity of territories, societies and cultures of different continents in order to allow crossed looks on the changes which are taking place in different parts of the world, show different styles of social organization and space, capture signs of continuity and change, archaisms and innovations that manifest themselves in the most populous cities or rural areas, located in the most remote and distant and areas, which are facing depopulation. The interpretation of the natural, economic, social and cultural landscapes validated in photos will make them an important component of territorial cooperation, as they are valuable resources of promoting the inclusion of remote and less visible regions.

Photos must allude to one of the following subjects:

Landscapes, biodiversity and natural heritage (Natural resources and risks; use, management and planning of natural areas; diversity of contexts and intercourse between man and the environment, etc.).
Rural areas, agriculture and settlement (Goods and agricultural products, organization of rural areas; places and rural architecture, mobility, etc.).
The city and the urbanization process (City, architecture, regeneration and urbanization processes; landscapes, urban environments and experiences, etc.).
Culture and society: cultural diversity and social inclusion (Constructed legacy and cultural heritage, ways of life and social conditions; fight against poverty and social exclusion, etc.)

3. Application and submission of the photos

Registration is free and universal.
Each candidate may only submit one portfolio with six (6) photos about a single subject of the contest
Applications will be submitted electronically through the www.cei.pt website and contestants must submit:
1. the application form properly filled with the following fields: personal information about the author; description for each photo;
2. file with portfolio of six (6) photos:
Each contestant will be assigned a code that will identify the candidate before the jury.

4. Photos: terms and technical requirements

The applicant must guarantee that pictures:
1. are originals
2. don’t include any identifcation element of its author
3. have not yet been previously rewarded
Formats and dimensions of the photos:
1. After filling out the application form, please send the photos in digital format, JPG type [file high quality compression (9)], for the email address ceibericos.transversalidades@gmail.com. In order to upload files larger than 20MB, send through the www.wetransfer.com site.that the pictures are originals
2. Contestants must only send a single file – type zip or rar- which should contain all the contest photos.
3. Photos must have a screen resolution of 72 dpi and size (W * or H) from 2000 to 2500 pixels (horizontal* or vertical, according to the angle of the photo);
4. The authors of the awarded photos may posteriorly be contacted in order to provide the files of the photos with a higher resolution in order to make a public exhibit of their work, which is a necessary condition to receive the award (Point 9, number 2 of this regulation)

5. Time limit for applications

1. The acceptance of the competition photos ends at 24 pm on may 12th 2024 (Lisbon time).
2. The Jury’s decision will be announced on the official website of CEI (www.cei.pt) until 30th November 2024.

6. Jury and evaluation

The Jury will be selected by the Executive Committee of CEI and will be presided by one of its members and shall consist of a panel of photographers, researchers or other individualities considered relevant for the evaluation process.
The evaluation of the material submitted to the competition will be conducted by the jury according to: loyalty to the proposed topics, creativity and photographic quality.
The winners’ selection will be an absolute, final and irreversible decision of the Jury.

7. Financial support for contest admittances

1. Of all participants and photos submitted to the competition will be selected and awarded the following:
1. General Awards:
  1. The Overall Winner (1) for the best and most complete submitted portfolio will receive a prize money of 1500 Euros.
  2. The Winner of each theme (4) for the best and most complete portfolio will receive 750 Euros.
  3. The Jury will also award up to 12 portfolios, being each one awarded with 150 Euros.
2. Special Awards:
  1. i. For a Portuguese competitor: prize money of EUR 500,00 (five hundred euros);
  2. ii. For a competitor from the Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PALOP): prize money of EUR 500,00 (five hundred euros).
Besides the general provisions foreseen in point 8. of these Regulations, these supports to be attributed to the selected portfolios, under the title of Copyright, grant CEI the possibility of using the images of the completed portfolios in publications or in eventual exhibitions, shows or catalogues that may result from this contest, always identifying the authors;
The financial support will be delivered until de 31st of December 2024. If it is not possible to contact the winner, the support will only be able to be claimed until the 31st of January 2024.