Myanmar, Saudi men win top prizes in global photography fest held by Kochi foundation, G20 initiative

Kochi: The winners of the 15th Greenstorm Global Photography Festival, jointly organised by the Kochi-based Greenstorm Foundation and the G20 Global Land Initiative at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, have been announced.
The thirteen winning photographs were selected from the 17,716 landscape images submitted from 153 countries. The winners received prizes ranging between $10,000 and $750 from the $30,000 total prize fund.

Aung Chan Thar of Myanmar won the coveted top position in the camera category. He won $10,000 in prize money, for the photograph of Indonesia's Bromo volcano landscape in stunning colours at dawn. Second-place in this category was won by Roberto Corinaldesi of Italy, who received $5,000, for his colourful picture of Cornwall’s landscape early in the morning. Myat Zaw Hein, also from Myanmar, took third place and $3,000 in prize money, for his photo of a family walking in a single file in a gold-coloured rice field landscape in Myanmar.

Sadek Khafaga of Saudi Arabia took first place in the mobile phone category for his captivating photo of a colourful masterpiece of the sandstone landscape in Arizona sculpted by wind over time. He received $3,000 in prize money. Soumya Nair of Canada took second place and was awarded $2,000, while third-placed Aleksandr Razumov of Russia received $1,000.
Three jury mentions in the camera category went to Andrea Curzi of Italy, Anoop Krishna of India and Morteza Salehi of Iran. Each received a prize money of $1,000. The two top student winners in each category are from India, Myanmar, Poland and Spain. Each received $750.

In his keynote address, Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, called for urgent action to restore land. "While we celebrate the stunning imagery captured in this year's festival, we must also confront the stark reality of our planet's decline. With one hundred million hectares of land lost every year, the need for action has never been more urgent," Thiaw said, in an address delivered on his behalf by Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Global Land Initiative.
Dileep Narayanan, Managing Trustee of Greenstorm Foundation, said the overwhelming engagement with this year's festival underscored the profound power of creativity and the vast reach of online media as vital tools for environmental conservation.