Terms & conditions

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Five individual finalists will be chosen from each one of the five Commonwealth regions (‘regions’). An overall winner will be selected from amongst the five finalists. A ‘Highly Commended’ prize will also be awarded to the most liked image on the Secretariat’s Instagram account.

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Five individual finalists will be chosen from each one of the five Commonwealth regions (‘regions’). An overall winner will be selected from amongst the five finalists. A ‘Highly Commended’ prize will also be awarded to the most liked image on the Secretariat’s Instagram account.

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Five individual finalists will be chosen from each one of the five Commonwealth regions (‘regions’). An overall winner will be selected from amongst the five finalists. A ‘Highly Commended’ prize will also be awarded to the most liked image on the Secretariat’s Instagram account.

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Five individual finalists will be chosen from each one of the five Commonwealth regions (‘regions’). An overall winner will be selected from amongst the five finalists. A ‘Highly Commended’ prize will also be awarded to the most liked image on the Secretariat’s Instagram account.

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Five individual finalists will be chosen from each one of the five Commonwealth regions (‘regions’). An overall winner will be selected from amongst the five finalists. A ‘Highly Commended’ prize will also be awarded to the most liked image on the Secretariat’s Instagram account.

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Five individual finalists will be chosen from each one of the five Commonwealth regions (‘regions’). An overall winner will be selected from amongst the five finalists. A ‘Highly Commended’ prize will also be awarded to the most liked image on the Secretariat’s Instagram account.

The competition is now closed.

Please note that the English Language Version of these competition rules (‘Rules’) is binding. Any queries about the Rules should be sent to [email protected]

The Commonwealth Photography Competition 2016 (‘Competition’) is organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s (‘Secretariat’) Communications Division.

Participation in the Competition

Eligibility criteria

Five individual finalists will be chosen from each one of the five Commonwealth regions (‘regions’). An overall winner will be selected from amongst the five finalists. A ‘Highly Commended’ prize will also be awarded to the most liked image on the Secretariat’s Instagram account.

The five regions are:

  1. Africa
  2. Asia
  3. Caribbean and Americas
  4. Europe
  5. Pacific

All entries must be accompanied by an explanation of how the 2016 Commonwealth Theme, ‘An Inclusive Commonwealth’ is represented.

All entries meeting the conditions of entry will be published on the Secretariat’s website and its social media platforms.

The public are encouraged to express whether or not they like an image through the ‘like’ function on the various social media platforms. Only ‘likes’ on the Secretariat’s Instagram account will count towards the ‘Highly Commended’ prize.

Entries will be shortlisted by a judging panel consisting of staff members from the Secretariat’s Secretary-General’s Office, Youth, Gender, Human Rights, and Communications Divisions. Two external, professional judges will select the five regional finalists and overall winner.

Conditions of entry

By entering the Competition, the entrant agrees to maintain the highest standards in all actions and communications relating to the Competition and not to do or say anything that does or might damage the reputation of the Secretariat, the Competition, the other entrants, or the Exhibition. Entrants accept that by entering into the Competition they do not have any rights to any intellectual property of the Competition and/or the Secretariat. Entrants also agree not to use any names, logos or other intellectual property of the Competition or the Secretariat, or to make any public statement regarding the Competition, the Secretariat or the other entrants without the prior written consent of the Secretariat.

It is the responsibility of each entrant into the Competition to ensure that they have read, and to abide by, the Competition’s Rules. By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to abide by these Rules and to ensure that their entry complies with the Rules. Any entry that does not comply with the Rules will not be published on the Secretariat’s website or social media accounts, and will be disqualified.

Winning entries which may later be found to have infringed any of the Competition’s Rules, will have their prizes withdrawn.

Entrants are not permitted to submit entries that: (i) have previously been awarded any prize, recommendation or other award in a national or international competition, (ii) depict obscene, offensive or pornographic images.

The Secretariat has the final and binding decision on all matters relating to the Competition. No negotiation will be considered. The Secretariat reserves the right to amend the Rules and to waive breach of the Rules at their sole discretion, acting reasonably.

Entrants are expected to submit entries that are consistent with the purpose and spirit of the Competition.

Information provided in the caption and description that accompanies the image must be complete, true and accurate. Captions and descriptions must not contain profanity or offensive language.

Entrants are responsible for ensuring full compliance with any national or international legislation that may apply and for securing any relevant permits that may be required for their photography.

If images include human subjects, the subject’s permission for their image to be used must be secured prior to entry and made available on request by the Secretariat.

Only the five regional finalists will be considered for the ‘Commonwealth Photographer of the Year 2016’ prize.

Prize winners will be notified in strict confidence by email. It is a condition of entry that the entrant does not disclose the details of winning entries to any third party until the official results are announced via the Commonwealth Secretariat’s website. Failure to adhere to this condition may lead to disqualification.

More details on the Competition’s prizes are available at: http://thecommonwealth.org/cwphotocomp2016. Prizes are non-transferable and there are no alternatives.

By entering the competition, entrants agree that if their entry is selected by the judges for an award, they will participate in related publicity and agree to the use of their name and their entry in advertising, promotion and publicity of the Competition and Exhibition without additional compensation.

Submitted photos

Entries must be submitted in JPEG, PNG or TIFF format.

Entries should not exceed a maximum size of 4MB.

No borders, watermarks or signatures are to be included.

Any entry that cannot be authenticated or is not of an acceptable quality will not be published on the Secretariat’s website or social media accounts, and the entry will be disqualified.

Digital adjustments, such as and including the following: burning, cropping, dodging, sharpening tone and contrast, noise reduction, stitched panoramas and minor cleaning work, are permitted so long as they are reported within the description information and do not deceive the viewer or misrepresent reality.

Composite images are not allowed. Adding, moving or removing objects, animals or parts of animals, plants, people etc. is not permitted.

Smart phone entries are welcomed and encouraged.

Entrants must not include their name in either the photo caption or the description of the entry, or on the image itself.

Grant of Licence

By entering the Competition, the entrant grants the Secretariat a non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to reproduce, publish, exhibit and communicate to the public, by any means and in all media throughout the world. This licence applies in relation to the Competition, Exhibition and general use by the Secretariat which shall include (with the right to sub-license where necessary) any of the following uses: (i) the process of judging the Competition (including the public vote); (ii) display during the Exhibition; (iii) publication in Commonwealth Calendars (iv) publication in other magazines or print media which the Secretariat (or their official partners, supporters, or sponsors) may produce; (v) publication on relevant parts of the Secretariat’s website, including within interactive elements available for viewing or download; (vi) in publicity materials (including social media); (ii) Inclusion in any and all publications associated with the Competition and Exhibition.