The Global Peace Photo Award 2024

Why we need the Global Peace Photo Award

Inner peace, peaceful coexistence, peace within a community, peace between nations, international policy of peace – what do we associate with all this? As many important photography awards focus on the conflicts and crises, the wars and catastrophes on our planet, professional awards do not normally highlight what other things humans are capable of. The Global Peace Photo Award, launched in 2013 as the Alfred Fried Photography Award, fills this gap: it shows the various facets of peacefulness. It completes the image of humans by adding their good sides. It honours the pictures which tell about successes rather than failures; of empathy rather than hatred; of things worth preserving rather than destruction; of encouragement rather than agony; and of the human right to beauty.

The Global Peace Photo Award for the best photo of peace is not an award for escapism, wildflower meadows and sunsets or an award for the sweetest smile, nor does it criticize the informative reportage photography which by nature depicts the misery of our world. It is, however, an award which encourages professional photographers to visualize on the highest level what inspires hope: from private efforts to support refugees to meaningful development aid; from pictures of personal happiness to examples of community spirit; from fighting poverty to a successful nature conservation project; from permitted withdrawal to peaceful niches to an enthusiastic rebellion against injustice; from important advances in medicine and in environmental protection to the reconstruction of cities in ruins. The Global Peace Photo Award celebrates the ability of humans to be caring and supportive. Inspired by Nobel Peace Laureates 1911 Alfred Fried and Tobias Asser, it celebrates all kinds of pacifism and disarmament of individuals and society as a whole.

The Global Peace Photo Award aims to discover the best picture of the better side of humans and the positive aspects of changes in this world. © Peter-Matthias Gaede

Who were Alfred Fried and Tobias Asser?

Alfred Hermann Fried (* 11 November 1864, Vienna; † 4 May 1921, Vienna) was an Austrian pacifist and author. As founder of the journal Die Waffen nieder! (Lay down your arms!) and other peace activities, Fried received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911, together with Tobias Michael Carel Asser (* 28 April 1838, Amsterdam; † 29 July 1913, The Hague), organizer of the first International The Hague Peace Conference and instigator of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Partners

The Global Peace Photo Award is organized by Edition Lammerhuber in partnership with Photographische Gesellschaft (PHG), UNESCO, the Austrian Parliament, the Austrian Parliamentary Reporting Association, the International Press Institute (IPI), the German Youth Photography Award, the World Press Photo Foundation, POY LATAM and LensCulture.

Children’s Peace Image of the Year

Are you 14 years or younger?

Enter your photos for the Children’s Peace Image of the Year!

Award Ceremony

All winners will be invited to Vienna to the award ceremony at the Austrian Parliament on 19 September 2024 with travel expenses and accommodation paid. The images will be shown for one year in the Auditorium of the Austrian Parliament.

Exhibitions

The participants of the Global Peace Photo Award 2024 can look forward to a series of exhibitions: For example the winning pictures and a best-of the-shortlist were shown at the Festival La Gacilly-Baden Photo, the largest outdoor photo festival in Europe, with over 300 000 visitors.