DGM Photo Contest Winners
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Grand Prize Winner
“The local people of Papua, Indonesia (indigenous people) now trying to cultivate the economic commodity in there area (cocoa trees). They are now aware that the forest getting decrease (deforestation) so that influence their daily live particularly the livelihood. In this picture depicted that Mr. Wellem as local people planting cocoa trees in their own land and of course keep the forest.”
Bastian A. Saputra
Activist and Consultant
Bastian is a documentary photographer and independent consultant for a nonprofit organization in Indonesia focused on local economic development. Photography is his passion and aligns with his professional work in inclusive development. He has received national and international recognition for his photography and firmly believes in the impact of documentary photography to inspire and convey stories.
Everyday Life Category Winner
“Seu Antônio, geraizeiro da comunidade Água Boa II, em Rio Pardo de Minas - MG, usa sua câmera digital para registrar os acontecimentos e lutas da região. Seu Antônio tem um importante acervo que guarda a memória dos geraizeiros do Alto Rio Pardo em sua luta para tornar oficial a Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Nascentes Geraizeiras.”
Breno Lima
Journalist / Photographer
With a focus on health and human rights, Breno's photography documents traditional peoples in northern Minas Gerais, psychiatric reform movements and the anti-asylum struggle in Rio de Janeiro and partnered with the Movement of the Landless Rural Workers of Brazil (MST) and the Quilombola Movement.
Projects in Action Category Winner
“Mbah (Grandpa) Warno staring at the farmland. Warno and “Bangun Jaya Makmur” farmers group community are struggling to get the certificate of 67,5 hectares farmland. Although the farmers won the lawsuit, Legal ownership of the land is yet to advocate. Once the legal certainty over land obtained, the community plans to farm Moringa, as subsistence vegetable and substance for the herbal supplement.”
Andhika Vega
The Samdhana Institute (DGM Indonesia)
Andhika is a development professional with experience in the environment and forestry sector, including a focus on community rights over forest lands and resource-dependent livelihoods. During his tenures, he mostly works on the aspect of knowledge, information, and education. Andhika believes in shared knowledge to gain multi-stakeholders collaboration.
Popular Vote Winner
“O urucum (Bixa Orellana) é usado pelo povo xavante como uma pintura corporal para cerimônias e rituais, juntamente com carvão (obtido do talo da folha de buriti). O vermelho representa a força, a energia, a liderança e a masculinidade, o bom, o maduro e o belo, (podendo também representar perigo, raiva, desejo e revolução) O preto está relacionado à ideia de final. O povo Xavante possui um processamento próprio de extração dessas cores. As sementes de urucum são socadas, peneiradas, cozinhadas e secas, alcançando uma pasta e posteriormente misturada com o óleo do coco de babaçu (extraído da mastigação do coco). Nesta imagem, uma moradora da aldeia Nossa Senhora Auxiliadora começa o preparo.”
Clea Torres
Clea is a journalist and graduate from the Federal University of Mato Grosso. She has worked on different projects with the Xavante indigenous people, including audiovisual and photographic coverage of the Tsirãpré Dzawidzé project (DGM / Brazil). Clea sees photography as a fundamental language for the expression of art, culture, and the diversity of different peoples.
Honorable Mentions
Best Portrait
“Le regard d’un Chef d’une communauté autochtone qui toujours s’habille en tenue rouge quand il accueille les visiteurs. Il a toujours un outil à la main pour sa protection et pour sa communauté.”
Everyday Life
“Os povos indígenas Xacriabá estão localizados no município de São João das Missões, no norte do estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Um dos poucos grupos indígenas que habitam o estado, os Xacriabás estão às margens do rio Itacarambi e lutam pelo resgate de sua língua materna (Família Jê) e pela preservação da sua área e cultura.”
Projects in Action
“Planting trees and greening the earth is the duty of all humanity.”
MEET THE JUDGES
“Indigenous People are the last people on this planet still connected to earth’s operating system and what this photographic competition does is it gives Indigenous People a forum to tell stories from their own perspective and that’s the reason I love this competition. It’s a first step, we hope that as the competition progresses we can be more inclusive and find many more artists in Indigenous communities that are willing to take on a camera and use it as a storytelling tool.”
About the DGM Photo Contest
The Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (DGM) exclusively sought images from DGM stakeholders and photographers in eight active DGM countries. This contest provided a platform for DGM beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders to communicate their daily lives through the power of photography in documenting and demonstrating its impact on nature conservation.
The photo contest invited submissions in two categories: “Everyday life” and “DGM projects in action”. The 300 photos submitted tell a story about the on the ground experiences of indigenous peoples and local communities-led conservation projects in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Ghana, Peru, Mexico, and Indonesia. Submissions were judged on technical excellence, subject matter relevance, artistic merit, overall impact, as well as the story behind each photo. The panel of judges consisted of John Martin, Director of Production for Visual Storytelling, Conservation International; Cristina Mittermeier, National Geographic Photographer and Co-Founder of SeaLegacy; Christian Albert Peter, Practice Manager, Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice, the World Bank; Bharati Pathak, Local Communities representative, Federation of Communities Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN), DGM Global Steering Committee member/Nepal; and Mafalda Duarte, Head of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF).
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