Andrei Stenin Photo Contest 2019 Sets Record With Participants From 80 Countries

The number of applications has more than doubled since the contest was established in 2014. The competition was launched to commemorate Rossiya Segodnya photojournalist Andrei Stenin, who was killed in eastern Ukraine near Donetsk on 6 August 2014. In the year of its fifth anniversary, the contest commemorating Rossiya Segodnya’s photojournalist Andrei Stenin has reached new heights.

"Even now we can say that the geographic representation and the high level of the works are amazing. Every year, photojournalists from more countries take part in the context, and 2019 is no exception: photos from ten new countries – Bhutan, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Luxemburg, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen – have been submitted to the Andrei Stenin Contest. It is now a fixture of the international programme of important photography events. Now, we are looking forward to the day when the international jury begins its work, and we wish success to all the contestants", contest curator and head of the Visual Projects Service of Rossiya Segodnya, Oksana Oleinik, noted, summing up the first stage of the contest.

In April, photography luminaries will judge the photos taken by young photojournalists from all over the world. The number of foreign contestants is growing annually, and this year, the share of Russian to foreign entries was 37 to 63 percent compared with 48 to 52 percent last year. The greatest number of submissions came from photographers from Russia, Iran, India, Spain, Egypt, Mexico, and Bangladesh.

The shortlist will be published on the website stenincontest.com on June 13. The award ceremony will be held in the fall of 2019 in Moscow, after which the exhibition of winning works will begin its tour of world cities.

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The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest was launched by Rossiya Segodnya under the aegis of the Russian Commission for UNESCO. Its main goal is to support young photographers and draw public attention to the challenges of modern photojournalism. This contest is a platform for young photographers: talented, empathetic and open-minded, they draw our attention to people and events around us.

In 2019, the general media partners of the contest include the news website Vesti.Ru and the Russian state Rossiya-Kultura TV channel. The international information partners of the contest include the Sputnik International Information Agency and Radio, Askanews Information Agency, Independent Media Holding, Notimex News Agency, ANA News Agency, RT channel and website, Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG), China Daily website, PNA news agency, AlYoum AlSabee newspaper and website, The Paper website, Al Mayadeen media network, Prensa Latina Information Agency, The Nation media group and Renminwang website.

The industry partners supporting the contest are the Russian Photo and Photo-study.ru websites, School of Visual Arts, Academy of Photography, the YOung JOurnalists information portal, National Geographic Russia magazine, the Contrastes magazine, the Fotoargenta magazine, the All About Photo website, Cuartoscuro magazine, Delhi Photography Club, EYE Photo magazine and PhotON festival as an international partner.