NEW YORK, June 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The winners of the eleventh annual Photo Competition for United Nations World Oceans Day were announced today during the United Nations World Oceans Day celebration at the UN Headquarters in New York. A panel of world-renowned judges selected five (5) first place winners from thousands of global entries made by both amateur and professional photographers. The 2024 categories for photography aligned with the United Nations World Oceans Day’s 2024 theme “Awaken New Depths” and included: Underwater Seascapes, Small Island Developing States, Big and Small Underwater Faces, Awaken New Depths, and Above Water Seascapes. With each first place winner hailing from a different country, the winning photographers are: Renee Grinnell Capozzola (USA), Taryn Schulz (Canada), Andrea Marandino (Brazil), Mathieu Macias (France), Michael Sswat (Germany). The first place winners, along with the second and third place winners for each category, will be featured in the competition’s virtual gallery at www.unworldoceansday.org starting June 7th as well as displayed during next year’s UN World Oceans Day event in 2025.
Winning Photos Per Category & Corresponding Captions Can be Viewed Here.
* All photos must include the caption with photographer credit listed per photo, as well as www.unworldoceansday.org to be published.
The eleventh annual Photo Competition is coordinated in collaboration between the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, DivePhotoGuide (DPG), Oceanic Global, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and Nausicaá. It has been curated by underwater and wildlife photographer Ellen Cuylaerts and judged by a world-renowned panel of judges every year since its inception in 2013. Judges for 2024 included photographer and dive center operator Mohamed Rifshan Shaheem, cave instructor and explorer Julia Gugelmeier, underwater photographer Mayumi Takeuchi-Ebbins, and underwater photographer Tom St George.
The Photo Competition for UN World Oceans Day is a free-and-open public competition that calls on photographers and artists from around the world to communicate the beauty of the ocean and the importance of the respective United Nations World Oceans Day theme each year. All winners and participants in the competition signed a charter of 14 commitments regarding ethics in photography. Winning photos from 2024 as well as from previous years can be viewed via the virtually gallery at www.unworldoceansday.org.
ABOUT UNITED NATIONS WORLD OCEANS DAY
Since its inception in 2008, United Nations World Oceans Day (UN WOD) has celebrated the ocean and its importance to the planet and our lives, while raising awareness about the many threats it faces. As the challenges to the ocean continue to grow, so does the need to understand and mobilize globally. In celebration of the 2024 theme, Awaken New Depths, the United Nations is joining forces with decision makers, scientists, private sector executives, civil society representatives, indigenous communities, celebrities and youth activists and more, to put the ocean first. The annual celebration, this year held on June 7th, is hosted by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs in partnership with Oceanic Global since 2019. Following the format of previous years, the 2024 World Oceans Day event will be hosted in-person at the UN Headquarters in New York and broadcast globally via UNTV. For more information visit www.unworldoceansday.org
ABOUT DIVE PHOTO GUIDE
DivePhotoGuide (DPG) is a comprehensive underwater photography and videography resource and award-winning website for photographers and videographers of all levels. DPG has a community of over 50,000 underwater photographers and videographers from around the globe. Several times each year DPG also hosts underwater photography expeditions.
To learn more: www.divephotoguide.com
CONTACTS
MEDIA CONTACT:
Natasha Berg
+1 (631) 241-0398
natasha@oceanic.global
*Brought to you by ESG News, a proud media partner of World Oceans Day.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fe0ca78f-ebdb-49cf-a4bc-0cc7d4b152f4
