First Europe-wide photo competition on safe and healthy workplaces launched on Europe Day
News release - 08.05.2009
A new photography competition focussing on safety and health at work has been announced by the European Agency for Safety and Health (EU-OSHA). All photographers - professionals or amateurs - are invited to join the competition and submit their photographs before 15 August 2009. An international jury of professional photographers selects the best entries from a special competition website. Prizes totaling € 7,000 await the winners.
The competition - entitled What’s your image of safety and health at work? - is open to all EU citizens. The photography competition forms part of EU-OSHA’s Healthy Workplaces campaign and has its own dedicated website at www.osha-photocompetition.eu
With this initiative, EU-OSHA encourages entrants to photograph images which portray safety and health at work issues in creative and imaginative ways. Participants can interpret safety and health at work in any way they choose: they are not restricted to particular subject matters or themes. Entries could depict work-related situations in different economic sectors such as agriculture, education or health care. The problems of a certain group like migrants or women could also be highlighted.
Jukka Takala, Director at EU-OSHA, commented on the launch of the competition: “Europe’s workplaces have changed a lot over the past few years. But even if we have experienced increasing awareness of occupational safety and health in the EU, along with greater efforts in making working conditions more fulfilling, we still have a lot to do. With this photo initiative, we want to see what safety and heath at work means to Europeans today and how they perceive it in their lives and we want to spread our message in an innovative and interactive way to more people.”
Selection process and prizes
A diverse and experienced jury composed of several leading figures in European photography has been assembled. Top photographers Mertxe Alarcón, Clemente Bernad, Miguel Angel Gaüeca and Ambroise Tézenas are joined by Peter Rimmer, communication expert in occupational safety and health and formerly from the Health and Safety Executive UK.
Jury member Ambroise Tézenas, awarded inter alia with the Leica European Publishers Award for Photography, says: “It’s a great photographic challenge and I am curious how people handle this topic. We look for creativity and technical quality as well as the photographer’s ability to portray the competition theme. We especially value photographs that draw attention to the positive aspects of safe and healthy workplaces”.
In total, four winners are selected from the submissions. The first prize is awarded with €3,000. Second and third placed entries win €2,000 and €1,000 respectively. The public's favourite is established through online voting on the competition website and wins €1,000.
A touring exhibition showcases winning and short-listed photos throughout Europe. For more information on how to enter the “What’s your image of safety and health at work?” competition, please visit www.osha-photocompetition.eu
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Notes to editors:
1. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues. http://osha.europa.eu
2. Healthy Workplaces. Good for you. Good for business. A European campaign on risk assessment is the Europe-wide information campaign organised by EU-OSHA. The current campaign (2008/2009) aims at reducing work-related accidents and illness through better risk assessment. It targets, in particular, SMEs and high risk sectors, such as construction, agriculture and transport. http://hw.osha.europa.eu
3. Europe Day On the 9th of May 1950, Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organised Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. Today, the 9th of May has become a European symbol (Europe Day) which, along with the flag, the anthem, the motto and the single currency (the euro), identifies the political entity of the European Union. Europe Day is the occasion for activities and festivities that bring Europe closer to its citizens and peoples of the Union closer to one another.
