Canon’s (Canon-CNA.com) sustainability themed ‘Moments that Matter’ photography competition, aimed at engaging people to influence change through visual storytelling at Expo 2020 Dubai; Saudi Arabia bagged the first prize award with Abbas Alkhamis being declared as the grand winner via a unanimous decision of the judging panel.

Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA), the official printing and imaging provider of Expo 2020 Dubai, declared the winners of its much-talked about sustainability themed competition ‘Moments that Matter’, in an announcement today. Held in collaboration with the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), the competition was launched with an intent to drive meaningful change and sustainable action through the power of visual storytelling at Expo 2020 Dubai last year.

In alignment with the Expo 2020 theme, Canon invited photography enthusiasts to participate in ‘Moments that Matter’ competition by capturing moments that define humanity’s relationship with the planet and highlight sustainable development issues. Participants aged 18 and above in the EMEA region were encouraged to submit five images reflecting the ideals of sustainability across any of four categories critical to global sustainability issues: Economic, Human, Environmental and Social. The entry categories were sub-divided into ‘Moments that make us’ (Environment), ‘Moments that heal us’ (Human), ‘Moments that save us’ (Social) and ‘Moments that develop us’ (Economic). The overall competition entries have been judged by an esteemed international panel of experts, including Fiona Shields, head of photography at Guardian News and Media Group; Kathy Moran, the deputy director of photography for National Geographic magazine; Aïda Muluneh, Canon ambassador and founder and director of Addis Foto Fest; Brent Stirton, Canon ambassador and senior photographer at Getty Images, and Muhammed Muheisen, Canon ambassador, National Geographic photographer, Pulitzer prize winner and founder of Everyday Refugees.

Driving Change Through Creativity

Canon is pleased to declare Abbas Alkhamis from Saudi Arabia as the grand winner chosen from across all four categories for its sustainability focused competition, aimed at raising awareness about the planet and its people. He will receive the grand prize of USD $8000 award and a prestigious opportunity to be part of the award ceremony held at Expo2020 Dubai for using the medium of visual storytelling to engage and influence people about sustainable development.

The grand winner along with winners from each category were selected unanimously by the esteemed panel of judges, however the ‘People’s Choice Winner’ was open for public to cast their votes in order to determine the best participating photographer. As per popular opinion of the public, the ‘People’s Choice Winner’ award goes to Mohamed Nageeb Nasr, who is originally from Egypt but now resides in Qatar.  The other winners selected specifically for each category are as follows:

1. Gabriel Jimoh from Nigeria is the official winner for the economic category ‘Moments that develop us’
2. Saif Khlaifat from Jordan is the official winner for the humanitarian category ‘Moments that heal us’
3. Anne-Marie Vermaat from Netherlands is the official winner for social category ‘Moments that save us’
4. Olga Timokhina from Spain as the official winner for the environmental category ‘Moments that make us’

The ‘People’s Choice Award’ winner will take home Canon’s remarkable R5 camera along with the lens whereas winners from each category will be awarded a gold coin.

People and Planet – Creating a Better Future for All

Commenting on the matter, Somesh Adukia – Managing Director, Canon Central and North Africa said, “It is an absolute delight to announce the winners of ‘Moments that Matter’ competition – an inspiring initiative from Canon and Expo 2020 to encourage sustainable development through the medium of photography. We want to thank all the participants for investing their time and energy towards this brilliant cause-led initiative. We are also very grateful to all our distinguished panel of judges who came together to shed light on such an essential subject – sustainability in the context of different topics and shared their immense wealth of knowledge. Our endeavor through this competition was to highlight the significance of sustainability in all walks of life and the impact we can generate today by our thoughtful actions to create a better world for tomorrow. The phenomenal response received from the participants as well as viewers and readers from across the world is a true testament to the fact that as a company and community, we are heading on the right path – the path of sustainable development for the planet and its people.”

The competition has been part of Expo’s series of interactive events and programs to promote the power of imagery to capture, preserve and share with the world some of the most inspiring transformative ideas showcased at the exhibition. His Excellency Ali Bin Thalith, Secretary General, HIPA, stated, “It was an absolute pleasure to collaborate with Canon and Expo 2020 Dubai and shed light on the significance of sustainability for our planet and people through a creative endeavor such as this. Photography has the potential to ignite emotions and actions as we have seen from the entries received. My heartfelt congratulations to all the winners.”

Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Experience Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, “The power of art and creativity to drive change is immensely impactful and this is evident through all the entries received for Canon’s Moments that Matter competition. The competition perfectly aligned with Expo 2020’s themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability with Canon’s corporate focus pillars of the ‘Future of the Planet’, the ‘Future of People in it’ and the ‘Future of what is Possible’ that generated the much-needed buzz and engagement on topics of sustainability in different areas of life. We are thrilled for all the winners and thankful to Canon for addressing this challenging conversation of sustainability by providing a creative platform to engage and encourage people.”

Click here to view more details about for Canon’s Moments that Matter competition: https://bit.ly/3x1DzBV