Global Photography Contest on Rice Launched

Highlights central role of rice in the fight against hunger and poverty

Global contest will acknowledge the best photographs illustrating the
"Rice is Life" theme

22 April 2004, Rome - A global photography contest to highlight the importance of rice as a staple food crop and a symbol of cultural and global identity has been launched by FAO and the United Nations.

As 2004 is the UN International Year of Rice (IYR), professional and amateur photographers are invited to capture the "Rice is Life" theme in photographs illustrating the rich diversity of regions, people and resources linked to this internationally vital food source.

IYR aims to promote improved production and access to this crop, which feeds more than half the world's population while providing income for millions of rice processors and traders.

Development of sustainable rice-based systems will reduce poverty and hunger, and contribute to environmental conservation and a better life for present and future generations.

Rice is Life

The objective of the IYR Global Photography Contest "Rice is Life" is to promote the International Year of Rice and to enhance awareness of the importance of rice in the fight against hunger and poverty. The competition is also an opportunity to focus on the role and significance of rice in different cultures around the world.

IYR is planning to include prize-winning photographs and a selection of other entries in a travelling exhibition.

The contest will acknowledge the best photographs illustrating the theme "Rice is Life." First-prize winners will be flown to FAO headquarters in Rome to be honoured at a special event held in conjunction with the World Food Day on 15 October 2004.

Nital S.p.A, the exclusive distributor of Nikon products in Italy, is supporting the IYR initiative by sponsoring the contest and providing winners with Nikon products.

Participants may submit slides, prints or digital images in either black and white or color. It is free to enter, and there are separate categories for professional and amateur photographers.

For competition details please visit the contest Web site at: http://www.fao.org/rice2004/en/photog.htm .

The entry deadline is 30 July 2004.


Contact:
IYR Global Photography Contest
IYR Secretariat/FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome/Italy

IYR-Global-Photography-Contest@fao.org

International Year of Rice Secretariat
Global Photography Contest
IYR-Global-Photography-Contest@fao.org

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF RICE
GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
"RICE IS LIFE"

http://www.fao.org/rice2004/en/photog.htm

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF RICE
http://www.fao.org/rice2004/index_en.htm

Almost 3,000 million people share the culture, traditions, and untapped potentials of rice. In remote villages of southeast Asia, farmers still compare a grain of rice to a "grain of gold". In modern Japan, people see rice as the very heart of their culture. Along the Senegal River in West Africa, villagers greet guests with specially prepared rice dishes.

Wherever it is grown - in the deltas and valleys of Asia’s major rivers, on the slopes of the Himalayas, in Africa’s tropical rainforests or on dry lands in the Middle East - rice enters people's lives as a daily food, at religious festivals and wedding parties, in paintings and in songs. Even in nations "new to rice", cultivation of the crop has changed landscapes, introduced new cuisine, and provided farmers with new sources of income.

So, rice is a food - but more than a food. It is society, culture, politics, business, the beauty of the landscape, people in their communities. In short, rice is life.