Education Forum for Asia, China Youth Daily and China University Media Union's joint launch of the the Eighth Annual Photography Exhibition is officially as of today. With the theme “Warmth - Channeling Positive Energy Through the Lens of a Camera”, it is open to all young students in Asia and within the Pacific Region during the time period of May 20th through Sept. 3rd, the awarding ceremony will be held in October during the Education Forum for Asia Annual Conference. The purpose of this event is to arouse caring, loving and sharing among the whole world, and to further enhance the understanding and communication among the world's young generation across borders and cultures.

The Asian Students Photography Exhibition was initiated by Education Forum for Asia and China Youth Daily at the 2006 Annual Conference of the Education Forum for Asia. China University Media Union has participated in the event since 2008. This event is available to all young students in the Asia Pacific Region and beyond. It is committed to representing a rich Asian culture and civilization to a wider range of people and on a deeper level. Through photography, students exchange their artistic touch and aesthetic sense regarding their country's longstanding customs and traditions, magnificent geographic features, diversified demographics, and whatever beauty they can find to express the unique spirit of Asia.

Since the first grand festival in 2006, the "Asian Students Photography Exhibition" has been successfully held for six consecutive years, collecting over 10,000 photographs  from more than 25 Asian & Pacific countries and regions, as well as entries from other continents. They photographs are from students in Greater China, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam, Nepal, Malaysia, India, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Great Britain and the United States, and even more.

Former Chinese State Councilor Madam Chen Zhili, China's former Minister of Education Zhou Ji, former Philippine President H.E. Mr. Fidel Ramos, former Nepalese Viace-Chairman of the Council of Ministers H.E. Mr. Kirti Nidhi Bista, former Secretary General of the Boao Forum for Asia Mr. Long Yongtu, Tajikistan ambassador to China H.E. Mr. Alimov, etc. have participated in the Awarding Ceremony and presented the prizes to winning students.

After seven years of efforts, and with the support and care of friends from all walks of life, "Asian Students Photography Exhibition" has established its importance and popularity among young people in the region. It has now become a platform for young students to share their ideas and their appreciation of life, to show their talents and to strengthen and develop friendships with students from around the world.

 1.  Organization of the Exhibition

Organizers:   

Education Forum for Asia

China Youth Daily

China University Media Union

Co-organizer:

Organizing Committee of Ping Yao Photography Festival

Official Website:

Asia Photo (www.asia-photo.org)

China Youth Online (www.cyol.net)

China University Media Union （www.xiaomei.cc)

Media Partners:

SOHU Educational Channel (learning.sohu.com)

Sina (www.sina.com)

2.  Expert Panel

Director: Mr. He Yanguang, former Picture Director, China Youth Daily

Deputy Director: Mr. Wu Peng, Member of the Council, China Photographers Association; Executive Member of the Council, Images Copyright Society of China

1) Preliminary Evaluation Jury:

Mr. Wu Peng, Member of the Council, China Photographers Association; Executive Member of the Council, Images Copyright Society of China

Mr. Zhang Zuo, well-respected photographer, China Youth Daily

Mr. Yin Jiahe, Branding Project Director, China Youth Daily

(2)Final Evaluation Jury:

Mr. Jin Yongquan, Picture Director, China Youth Daily

Mr. He Yanguang, former Picture Director, China Youth Daily

Mr. Wu Peng, Member of the Council, China Photographers Association; Executive Member of the Council, Images Copyright Society of China

Ms. Wang Wenlan, Deputy Chairman of China Photographers Association; Director of Photography, China Daily,

Mr. Xie Hailong, Director-General of photography, Copyright Society of China

Mr. Zhao Yingxin, China Photographic Publishing House

Mr. Sheng Xigui, Doctor Tutor of School of Journalism, Renmin University of China

Mr. Zhang Guotian, Art Director, Ping Yao International Photography Festival  

2.       Theme of the Exhibition:

“Warmth: Channeling Positive Energy Through the Lens of a Camera”

3.       Evaluation Process

1)        Picture collection: 20th May – 3^rd  September, 2013. All of initially selected pictures will be displayed on the official website during this period.

2)        Preliminary Evaluation: Late August

3)        Final Evaluation: Early September right after preliminary evaluation

4)        Public announcement for winners: Early September right after final evaluation

5)        Award Ceremony will be held in Chengdu at the opening ceremony of “2013  Education Forum for Asia Annual Conference” this September.

4.       Picture Selection

1)    Eligibility:

All students in the Asia & Pacific region and even beyond are welcomed to participate in this event. There is no restriction on the age, gender, religion of the participant.   

2)    Pictures taken via camera and mobile phone alike are accepted in order to encourage broader participation.

i.              Pictures should have a theme of healthy-mind, be of characteristics of concurrent times.

ii.            Advocate the innovative touch to bring strong visual effect or impact.

iii.          Pictures should be rich in content, profound in meaning and dynamic in expression, to explore the theme from multiple perspectives. 

iv.          Encourage creative works, prohibit to PS pictures. Each participant is allowed to submit 5 pictures. Please also indicate the brand of the camera or mobile phone, its model, and his/her complete contact information.

5.       Guide to Photo Upload

1.        Candidates have to log onto the official website of the Exhibition ( www.asia- photo.org)  to register and then submit their works online (Introduction to registration and photo-uploading procedures are available on the website.).

2.        The system will give notification of a successful uploading. Our staff will examine the uploaded works. Those which meet the requirements of the exhibition will appear on the webpage shortly, while those which do not meet the requirements will be deleted automatically.  

3.        The original digital information of the photos must be kept, otherwise they will be regarded as invalid.

4.        The uploaded photo, s must be in JPEG format, and each piece of work can not exceed to 1MB, try to maintain the length-width ratio of the image as 4:3.

5.        As soon as the winners are announced, they must send their valid information (the photocopy of ID/passport and the original digital photo of the maximum size) to the assigned mailbox asia_photo@163.com, no later than September 1. The award will be regarded as invalid either if the winner can’t provide documents mentioned above, or the supplement information is incoherent with the original registered information.

6.       Winners and Prizes

There will be 1 grand prize winner, 3 second place winners, and 8 third place winners  selected. The exhibition judges will also select 25 photographs for Works Of Excellence Awards.

1)        Grand Prize winner will receive a certificate along with a package equivalent to the value of   5000 RMB.

2)        Second place winners will receive a certificate along with a package equivalent to the valued of  2000  RMB.

3)        Third place Winners will receive a certificate along with a package equivalent to the valued of  500   RMB.

4)        Excellent Work Award winners will receive a certificate along with a package equivalent to the valued of   200    RMB.

7.       Remarks for Attention

1)        The candidates must have the copyright and ownership of the contest works. The works must have not been published before. The candidates are not allowed to copy or imitate others’ works. If a fraud has been substantiated after investigation, the candidate will be disqualified and the canceled award will not be supplemented by any chances. If the award has been taken, the organizers hold the right to ask the recipient to return it.

2)        The copyright of the prizewinning works (except signature right) belongs to the organizers, who have rights to use the works in the relevant spectacle, in publication, in advertisement, in publicity and so on without paying extra remuneration. No third party is entitled to reproduce them or use them for any commercial purposes without permission.

3)        The candidates should bear all legal responsibilities for the consequences caused by portrait right, honors, copyright related to the contest works. The organizers, who are not liable for the consequences caused by above mentioned, and who reserve the rights to ask for the candidates to recover losses, if any.

4)        If the contest works get involved in immoral contents such as pornography, violence and bloodiness, the organizers have rights to remove them from the website.

5)        The organizing committee will not assume the responsibility if the award is damaged or lost after they are sent.

6)        Staff of the host organizations and evaluation jury of this contest can not participate in this contest.

7)        Once students take part in the competition, they are considered to be informed by above-mentioned regulations.

8)        The organizers reserve the right of final interpretation.