Washington, D.C., 30 April 2013 (PAHO/WHO) - The deadline to participate in the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization´s contest for the best photographs and videos that demonstrate complementary child feeding in the Americas from 6 months to 2 years has been extended to May 31.
The contest, whose main objective is to draw attention to the importance of adding other foods to children´s diets once they turn 6 months and breast milk alone is not enough to satisfy their nutritional needs, has extended its deadline an additional 30 days.
Institutions and individuals - whether they are professional photographers or not - of any nationality can participate in the contest. Participants can submit up to five photographs and one video each.
The topic of the contest is exclusively complementary feeding, as there is already an extensive amount of breastfeeding pictures. Some situations that could be illustrated in the photos include:
- A parent, grandparent, sibling, family member or neighbor smiling while teaching the child to eat or watching the child eat.
- Children enjoying their food.
- A variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, beans, eggs
The photos and videos should be the photographer's or videographer's own, and should not have been modified by any design programs. The images should be sent in "jpg", "tif" o "raw" format and have a resolution of at least 7 megapixels (3072 x 2304 pixels). The images can be in color or in black and white, but should be from the Region of the Americas.
In terms of the video contest, videos should be no longer than two minutes and should be uploaded to YouTube. The organization will not accept video files, only links to videos on the Internet. Photos and videos of children outside the age range of 6 to 24 months will not be considered
A jury formed by experts in child feeding from PAHO and other institutions will select one winning photograph and video per country, which will receive a certificate and move on to compete at the regional level. At this level, the jury will choose the top three photographs and videos.
The regional winners, which will be announced on July 1 of this year, will win $2,000 for first place; $1,000 for second place; and $500 for third place.
The contest is organized by PAHO as part of the distribution of the Process for the Promotion of Child Feeding (ProPAN) to offer ministries of health, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations a tool to plan, implement and evaluate programs to promote adequate feeding practices in children under the age of 2 years. ProPAN was jointly developed by PAHO with UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Public Health School at Emory University. The development of the initiative was partly financed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
To access the contest rules and format to submit a photograph or video, please visit:
For questions, please contact
ProPAN: www.paho.org/propan
