Top Commonwealth photographic awards’ winners to visit Australia

The top two entrants of this year’s Royal Commonwealth Society Photographic Awards will be flown to Perth, Australia, and their work exhibited as part of a special prize commissioned by the Commonwealth Festival Perth 2011.

The deadline to enter photographs has been extended until 1 August 2011 in recognition of the Commonwealth Festival Perth, an initiative of the Western Australian Government to celebrate the people and culture of the Commonwealth alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in October 2011.

Up to 50 images from the Royal Commonwealth Society Photographic Awards will be exhibited in Perth for the duration of the festival from 23 to 30 October.

This year’s photographic awards focus on the 2011 Commonwealth Day theme - ‘Women as Agents of Change’. Entrants have been encouraged to think about the opportunities and barriers faced by women around the world and roles they play in their family, community and nation.

Young professionals and first-time photographers who are Commonwealth citizens or residents, are eligible for the competition. The two top prizes of a trip to Perth will be presented to photographers aged 18-30, but the competition is also open to under 18s.

Other prizes include monetary awards, certificates, equipment, internships, exhibitions and workshops with leading professionals.

Vision Awards

The deadline for the Royal Commonwealth Society Vision Awards 2011 has also been extended to 1 August 2011.

Competition entrants can enter a film of up to 4 minutes long connected to the theme ‘Women as Agents of Change’.

Entrants must be under 30 and from or resident in a Commonwealth country.

Top prizes include monetary awards, certificates, equipment, internships, exhibitions, workshops with leading professionals, and submission to prestigious film festivals around the Commonwealth.

In 2010, a selection of the film-makers behind the judges’ favourite entries were flown to London for workshops led by professional film-makers, and to receive their prizes from the award winning film-maker, Gurinder Chadha.

The photographic awards and Vision Awards are part of the Royal Commonwealth Society’s annual Young Commonwealth Competitions. The society - the oldest and largest civil society organisation devoted to the Commonwealth - conducts a range of events and activities aimed at promoting international understanding.

More details about the awards can be found at: www.thercs.org/youth/competitions.