Organizer Information
Médicos del Mundo Spain (Doctors of the World Spain) is an independent, non-profit humanitarian organization operating globally to ensure health as a fundamental human right. The award honours the memory of Luis Valtueña, Flors Sirera, Manuel Madrazo, and Mercedes Navarro—four humanitarian aid workers from the association murdered in Bosnia (1995) and Rwanda (1997) while serving on aid missions. Through this international prize, Médicos del Mundo leverages documentary photography to expose social inequities, human rights violations, and injustice, celebrating visual storytellers who document human values and social struggle worldwide.
Title & Description
30th Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award: Call for Entries
Médicos del Mundo Spain has launched the 30th edition of the Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award, inviting photojournalists and documentary photographers worldwide to submit narrative image series. The competition recognizes single series that highlight human rights abuses, social inequities, armed conflicts, health crises, or efforts to overcome these conditions. Photographers are invited to present a cohesive photographic story consisting of 5 to 10 images. The winner receives a top cash prize of €6,000, and selected entries are published in an official catalog, promoted internationally, and featured in a traveling group exhibition produced by Médicos del Mundo.
Categories
The award accepts documentary and photojournalistic series focusing on Health, Natural Disasters, Humanitarian Action, International Cooperation, Social Exclusion, Human Rights Violations, Armed Conflicts, Vulnerable Groups, and Refugee/Migrant Populations.
Eligibility
- Geographic & Experience Scope: Open to amateur and professional photographers of any nationality residing anywhere globally.
- Age Requirement: Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
- Submission Volume: Strictly one application/series per entrant.
- Image Recency: At least 50% of the images in the submitted series must have been taken between 2025 and 2026.
Program Benefits & Awards
The total prize pool exceeds €13,500:
- First Prize (Overall Winner): €6,000 gross cash award.
- Second Prize: €2,000 gross.
- Third Prize: €2,000 gross.
- Fourth Prize: €2,000 gross.
- Special Prize (San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival): €1,500 cash award for a single image chosen from the four winning series to serve as the official poster for the festival's 2027 edition.
- Exhibition & Travel Coverage: The winner and finalists will have their work produced for an itinerant traveling exhibition and published in an official catalog. Médicos del Mundo covers travel and two consecutive nights' lodging for selected authors to attend the award ceremony and exhibition opening in 2027.
- Promotion: Dedicated media outreach and press promotion for at least one year.
Application Fee
The competition is 100% free to enter.
Application Requirements
- Series Specifications: A cohesive series containing a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 photographs (color and/or black and white).
- Project Description & Captions: A written project description and individual image captions.
- Anonymity Rule: To ensure blind judging, the author's name must not appear within the project description, captions, or image filenames.
- Biography: Concise author biography (maximum 1,500 characters).
How to Apply
Submissions are processed exclusively online through the Picter platform.
- Official Entry Portal: Luis Valtueña Award Open Call Page
Key Dates
- Submissions Opened: July 30, 2026
- Submission Deadline: October 11, 2026, at 23:59 (GMT+2 / CEST)
- Error Rectification Window: October 2026
- Jury Decision: November 2026
- Award Ceremony & Exhibition Opening: 2027
Location
The award ceremony, main exhibition, and catalog release take place live in Spain, followed by an international touring exhibition.
Additional Details
The judging panel comprises leading figures in photojournalism, visual arts curators, humanitarian action specialists, and representatives from Médicos del Mundo.