UN, AFP and Olympus launch Africa photo contest



ADDIS ABABA- The UN Development Programme, the AFP Foundation and Japanese camera-maker Olympus on Friday launched an African photography contest to highlight the effects of climate change on the continent.
The "Picture This: Caring for the Earth" contest will profile ordinary people who work to reduce the effects of climate change in their home regions.



UN, AFP and Olympus launch Africa photo contest
"Its one of many initiatives leading up to the Copenhagen Conference of getting people engaged in the process of tackling climate change," UNDP chief Helen Clark told AFP.
"Through photography you can convey very powerful images of a subject. Putting impressions into pictures is important," she added.
"In this way we can highlight the care and concern which people in Africa have for their natural environment, what they are seeing happening around them as climate changes, what the threats are for their livelihood, and use this to act as a conscience to the world on what needs to happen."
The AFP Foundation, which was launched by the international news agency Agence France-Presse to train journalists in developing countries, said the initiative could help in the fight against poverty.
"We believe that the media should help people make informed decisions about their lives and that this can reduce poverty and promote development," said Robert Holloway, director of the foundation.
"The photo competition aims to do that by showing how ordinary Africans deal with the effects of climate change and environmental degradation," Holloway added.
The competition is open to any resident of an African nation who provides a single photo or a photo essay, on an amateur or professional basis.
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Friday, June 19th 2009
AFP
           


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