About
the Contest
the Contest
The Joy of Connection
Giga Photo Contest 2025
©UNICEF/Anush Babajanyan
At Giga, we understand that photography, when coupled with the internet, is a powerful tool in connecting us with the world. Our photo contest aims to amplify a global, participatory voice, recognizing connectivity as a human right.
You can submit your work via Picter from 1-30 April 2025.
Our contest will feature three categories:
You can submit your work via Picter from 1-30 April 2025.
Our contest will feature three categories:
01
Single Image
02
Junior Visual Storyteller
03
Multiple Image
Participants can submit their personal and professional work expanding on the theme which may feature:
Timeline
Submission for the contest :
1 - 30 April 2025
Judging in Geneva :
6 - 7 May 2025
in collaboration with HEAD-Genève
Award Ceremony and Outdoor Exhibition in Geneva :
12 June 2025
The Joy of Connection
About the Categories
©UNICEF/Aleksey Filippov
01
Category
Single Image
This can be a candid, spontaneous, unposed or posed photograph showing the impact of being connected. It may be from daily life or the biggest moment in someone’s life.
The single photograph should increase our understanding of small and significant moments that technological connection brings to our lives. Each participant can submit up to 5 images.
All the photographs submitted should be truthful. The content of the submitted work must not be digitally manipulated or altered through post-production processing. No AI images are allowed.
We only accept images made from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2024.
02
Category
Junior Visual Storyteller
This is a single image category. It celebrates a child’s vision and photographic expression on the theme. It is open only to junior visual storytellers (below 18 years).
Submission of the entry must be assisted by an adult, which could be a parent, sibling, or developmental organizations.
Each participant can submit up to 5 images. No AI images are allowed. We only accept images made from 1st January 2019 onwards.
Consent forms provided on the website need to be signed and uploaded with the submission on Picter.
©UNICEF/Jannatul Mawa
©UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson
03
Category
Multiple Image
This photo series recognizes a photographer’s story on personal, family or community connection. This could be represented through technology, science, health, news, and daily life, highlighting the role technological connection plays.
Submissions do not need to adhere to documentary principles. However, the content of the submitted work must not be digitally manipulated or altered through post-production processing. No AI images are allowed.
Each submission may consist of 5 to 20 images per project. Each participant can submit 2 projects.
We only accept images made from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2024.
Prizes & Honors
Awards
Winning images will be showcased in an exhibition in Geneva in June and October 2026.
Award recipients will be invited to attend the awards ceremony, with travel and accommodation provided.
Single Image
Category
Category
first place:
- Giga Photo Fellowship of 2,000 USD
- Mentorship by Centre de la photographie Genève
- A plaque by Giga
second place:
- first place:
- Prize money of 1,000 USD
- Portfolio review
- A plaque by Giga
third place:
- Prize money of 500 USD
- A plaque by Giga
Junior Visual Storyteller
Category
Category
first place:
- Mentorship by Centre de la photographie Genève
- A plaque by Giga
second place:
- Photo workshop programme
- A plaque by Giga
third place:
- A photobook
- A plaque by Giga
Multiple Image
Category
Category
first place:
- Giga Photo Fellowship of 3,000 USD to the winner to cover the role of internet connectivity through a photo-story, to be published at a leading newspaper or magazine.
- Mentorship by Centre de la photographie Genève
- A plaque by Giga
second place:
- Prize money of 1,000 USD
- Portfolio review
- A plaque by Giga
third place:
- Prize money of 500 USD
- A plaque by Giga
Create a free account on Picter.com if you haven't already done so. You will receive an email with a confirmation link.
You can return as many times as necessary to upload your material.
Submissions to Giga Photo Contest will be made online through Picter: https://site.picter.com/giga-photo-festival-2025.
- Picter's servers for Giga Photo Contest will open on 1st April 2025 and will close on 30th April, 2025 at Midnight (GMT +01:00).
- Captions play a big role in the judging process and often decide if a photograph progresses to the next stage or not. By default, we prefer editorial captions.
- Captions that are inaccurate or that falsely represent the picture content may be disqualified.
- IPTC data may be embedded into images using Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, Aperture, Lightroom and other image editing solutions.
- Do not include your credit or byline in the caption. Include your credit only in the creator/author fields.
- When you upload your images to Picter, the system will complete the contest information fields from IPTC metadata.
- After uploading your images to Picter, you will be able to sequence the photos and see that your caption information is present in Picter.
- Please edit or add information to the file BEFORE uploading to Picter, embedding the information, or replace the photo if you need to make changes.
- Images should only be submitted as .jpg files.
- The .jpg image should be saved in “maximum quality”, or with a compression ratio greater than 9. The maximum size is 5,000 pixels. 300 dpi, minimum.
- Photos from smartphone cameras are eligible.
- Diptychs or triptychs are allowed, if it’s a truthful combination of 2-3 authentic images.
- Film borders are acceptable only if the image was originally taken on negative, slide or Polaroid film.
- A photo submitted in a single category may also appear in the multiple image category.
- A multiple image story can only be submitted once.
- The order or sequence of images you create upon entering will be preserved. You may change the sequence after you upload the images.
- Giga Photo Contest will not change the order of the pictures after you submit the entry.
- Please include the story summary in addition to the caption in the description field in the first image of each story.
- Giga Photo Contest will not accept AI-generated images in any category.
- Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of people in the photographs.
- Treat all the people photographed with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion.
- Photo-editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. The content of a photograph must not be altered by adding, rearranging, reversing, distorting or removing people and/or objects from within the frame.
- Giga Photo Contest accepts two photographic modes: color and black & white. Black & white images should be bi-tonal and display a full grayscale range of 256 intensities from deep-shadow blacks to highlight whites. Black & white image files that artificially impose a color shift, such as sepia or cyan tones, will be disqualified.
- Photos from smartphone cameras are eligible. However, the use of software capture filters that changes the image through excessive tonal aberrations, textures, vignettes, or other artistic manipulations will be disqualified.
- Diptychs or triptychs are allowed.
- Film borders are acceptable only if the image was originally taken on negative, slide or Polaroid film.
- Always obtain verbal consent, except in public places where national laws don't require it, and participants are unrecognizable. Strive for the strongest consent possible; written consent is needed in certain situations.
- Respect the privacy and protection rights of children and women in vulnerable situations. Avoid identifying children visually or by name if it puts them at risk.
- Ensure imagery does not perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
- For the junior visual storyteller category, please download the consent forms in Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Spanish below : https://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AMZIFVRI4WB#/SearchResult&VBID=2AM4WNBXCUZ2Y&PN=1&WS=SearchResults
- For more information, please check UNICEF’s visual guidelines : https://rise.articulate.com/share/HEawae7Xb4jZ76C_GdURUAz-UwkCUefd#/lessons/dPb2KDvwmZx1ofW5PeJJO4l6b7HC7nSh
FAQ
Question and answer
Who can participate in the Giga Photo Contest?
Are team entries allowed, or is it only for individual participants ?
Do I need to name my files in a specific way before submission ?
Can a single image be submitted as an individual entry, part of a story, and part of a portfolio at the same time ?
Are portrait photographs allowed in the contest ?
Do all submitted photographs need to be documentary and truthful in nature ?
Do the photos need to have been published before submission ?
What is the allowed timeframe for when the photographs must have been taken or published ?