The Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean) launched the Inspire ISLANDS Photography Competition on April 03, 2023.

The theme for this competition is The Tide Has to Turn on Plastic Waste. This directly aligns with this year’s 50^th World Environment Day celebrations on June 05, 2023, where solutions to #beatplasticpollution will be spotlighted.

Currently being executed by the BCRC-Caribbean, is the Global Environment Facility (GEF) “Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development in Small Island Developing States” (ISLANDS) Caribbean Child Projects 10279 and 10472, in which twelve (12) Caribbean countries are participating; Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Under Component Four (4) of these projects, the BCRC-Caribbean is executing the Plastic Tide Turners Challenge (PTTC) in nine (9) of the twelve (12) project countries; Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) PTTC was developed under the Clean Seas Campaign and aims to:

• Engage youth across the globe to address the issue of plastic pollution threatening life in oceans, rivers and on land,
• Educate young individuals on single-use plastics leading to actions that will reduce land and marine plastic pollution,
• Motivate youth to alter behaviour and norms around plastic usage at both individual and community levels.

SUBMISSION CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES

Entry Categories

• 12 – 17 years – Amateur
• 18+ Amateur
• Professional

Each group will be judged separately based on the judging criteria.

Submission Criteria

• Your submission should be clearly aligned to the theme: The Tide Has to Turn on Plastic Waste
• The photograph should be submitted as a .png file, no less than 300PPI, with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
• Your submission should include a 25 – 40-word caption, which includes the location where the photo was taken, as well as an Impact Statement of no more than 150 words. This statement should tell the story of your piece and what you are attempting to convey. Both the caption and the impact statement should be submitted together within a Microsoft Word Document.

Judging Criteria

• Your photograph will be scored on creativity, originality, perspective, use of space and lighting, interpretation, clarity and applicability of theme as well as overall impression of the photograph. This portion of the submission carries a weighted score of 60%.
• Your caption will be scored on adequacy of descriptor and alignment with photograph and theme as well as representation of location at which the photograph was taken. This portion of the submission carries a weighted score of 20%.
• Your impact statement will be scored on significance, intended impact and messaging, alignment with theme and grammar. This portion of the submission carries a weighted score of 20%.

HOW TO ENTER

1. Click here to access and complete the submission form.
2. Scan the QR Code at the end of the form to access the OneDrive folder. Click here to access this folder.
3. Upload your photograph submission to the folder. It should be clearly labelled as follows: Your Name_ Title of Piece. This .png file should be no more than 50MB.
4. Upload your text submission as a Microsoft Word document, clearly labelled as Your Name – Title of Piece. This document should contain both your caption and your impact statement and should be no larger than 50MB.
5. The entrant must complete all fields in the Microsoft Form, as well as upload the items mentioned in 3 and 4 above to the OneDrive folder, to be eligible for judging.

Note: If the entrant does not have an email address, a parent or guardian can complete the form and submit it on behalf of the entrant.

PRIZES