Global Oneness: Student Photography
Dates: April 1, 2020 – June 1, 2020
Inspired by our film Earthrise by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, we challenge and encourage teens to enter a student photography contest to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Earth Day. The Earthrise photograph was an impetus behind the environmental movement and the founding of Earth Day, which was created 50 years ago on April 22, 1970.
The Earthrise photograph had an everlasting impact on the astronauts and humanity, offering a powerful perspective that transcended national, political, and religious boundaries. It helped humanity to see our Earth as one ecosystem and has become one of the most iconic and widely reproduced and distributed images in history. How does the Earthrise photograph challenge us to consider our relationship to the Earth and provide a context for what it means to be a global citizen? How does the Earthrise photograph reflect the shared fate of humanity on the earth today?
We are all sheltering in place as we experience the coronavirus pandemic taking place around the world. How might we consider this moment in time and history? How might we reimagine and redefine the meaning of home?
Guidelines and Rules
- Start by filling out this simple submission form.
- Students (13 years and older) will submit one photograph in response to one of the following prompts:
- What is your relationship to our planet?
- How are we all interconnected?
- In what ways is your community protecting the environment?
- How can we change our perspective to see our planet as one home?
- Photo entries must be accompanied by a short photographer’s statement (2-3 paragraphs) which responds to all of the following questions:
- Which question/prompt did you choose to answer? Why?
- How did the film Earthrise and/or the Earthrise photograph inspire and inform the decisions you made in taking your photograph?
- If your photograph captures the place in which you live, why is this place important to you?
- What would you like your place in the world to be remembered for?
- Each contestant can submit only one entry—one photograph and one photographer’s statement.
- Each photograph and response must be original and previously unpublished. Images do not have to be of the natural world but should help to express students’ human relationships (to their home, family, and/or community) as well as their perspective of the living world. Students can turn the camera on themselves, on their family members, or on their homes. Be creative!
- The photograph submitted must take into consideration the Global Oneness Project platform and mission statement: Planting seeds of resilience, empathy, and a sacred relationship to our planet.
- Visit the full Earthrise curriculum guide for discussion questions and ideas and to explore the following themes: the power of perspective, bearing witness, exploration, and reverence for the environment.
- Your submitted photograph should be a JPEG that is no larger than 5mb. The photograph should not be a photo collage or photoshopped image. If your photograph contains a person, you will need to fill out and return the Photo Subject Release Form.
- Eligible entries will be judged by a qualified panel consisting of professional filmmakers, photographers, and authorized personnel from the Global Oneness Project.
- Prizes. Winners will be awarded $200 USD each and photographs will be published on the Global Oneness Project website.
- Contestants must be ages 13 and up in the U.S. and 16 and up globally. Check our Submission Guidelines and Rules and our Terms of Service for more details.
- All entries must be accompanied by this signed Parental Permission Form.
- Ready to send your forms, photograph, and photographer’s statement?First, send your completed forms to info@globalonenessproject.org. Then we will email you an invitation to upload your photo and photographer’s statement to our Dropbox. Please include your name in the subject line so we can keep track of your submission.
- All entries must be received by June 1, 2020 at 5pm/PST.
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