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Laman Ismayilova

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The deadline for UNESCO's 7th International Photography Contest, "Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads," has been extended, Azernews reports.

UNESCO invites young people aged 14-25 from around the world to grab their cameras and submit their best photographs to the 7th edition of this contest. This competition, which is part of UNESCO's Silk Road Program within the Sector of Social and Human Sciences, promotes photography as a tool to foster cultural interaction, mutual understanding, and peace among the peoples of the Silk Road regions.

The contest, launched in 2018 at the initiative of Reza Deghati and organized by UNESCO, is dedicated to the theme "Guardians of the Silk Roads Heritage: Women" for its 7th edition. Young photographers are invited to explore and capture the significant roles women play in preserving and transmitting the shared heritage of the Silk Road.

Women have played and continue to play a vital role in preserving and transmitting the common heritage of the Silk Roads. Despite their wide-ranging contributions across various fields, their efforts often remain underrecognized. Women have shaped and continued traditions, preserved collective memory, and ensured the continuity of East Asian culture to the Mediterranean, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East by passing on knowledge and skills across generations and regions.

Contest participants can draw inspiration from women engaged in crafts such as weaving, embroidery, pottery, or ceramics, as well as from traditional sports and games led by or passed down by women. Music, musical instruments, dance, oral storytelling, culinary traditions, and the contributions of women as writers, educators, artists, traders, or scholars who have helped facilitate cultural and intellectual exchanges along the Silk Roads can also serve as subjects for their photos. The photos may also feature intercultural gatherings and multicultural meetings led by women, as well as portraits of women reflecting their cultural identity, resilience, knowledge, joy, learning, or moments of celebration from Silk Road regions.

Young participants may submit up to 20 photos. They are invited to use photography to reflect our shared cultural heritage and contribute to peace and understanding. The winners of the contest will receive valuable prizes, and around 60 of the best photographs, which best reflect the spirit of the contest, will be showcased through traveling exhibitions in various countries. The selected photographs will also be published in a professional photo album.

The contest winners will be awarded cameras as prizes.

Applications for the photography contest, organized within the framework of UNESCO's Silk Road Program, must be submitted by August 5. The Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads Photography Contest, held annually, provides a great opportunity for capturing perspectives on the cultural heritage sites along the Silk Road through the lens of a camera.

Young photographers from Azerbaijan are also invited to participate in the contest. For more information about the photography contest, please visit UNESCO's official website.

For additional inquiries, you can contact the following email address: [email protected]