The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Mountain Forum (MF)/Asia Pacific Mountain Network (APMN) are jointly organising a Global Digital Photo Contest to mark the 25th Anniversary of ICIMOD, whose slogan is "For Mountains and People". On 5 December this year, ICIMOD celebrates its 25th birthday. A series of events have been planned throughout the year, and the digital photo contest is one of the most important ones.

Not surprisingly, the theme chosen for the Digital Photo Contest is "Mountains and People". It encompasses the following four categories:

• Mountains - Geo/physical elements (mountain range, massif, mountain landscape, high altitude rangeland, bodies of water, waterfalls, rivers, etc)
• Mountains - Hazards/Disasters (landslides, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, potentially dangerous glacial lakes, mud-slides, dangerous roads, trails & river crossings, etc)
• People - Livelihoods (farming, shifting cultivation, grazing, hunting, fishing, transhumance, trade, porterage, tourism, etc)
• People - Culture (festivals, shamanism, rites of passage, dance , ethnicity, etc)

The top two entries will receive the ICIMOD Hindu Kush-Himalayan Prize and the Mountain Forum Global Prize. In addition, four Special Mentions will be awarded, one for each category. The "top 50" entries may be exhibited in select Hindu-Kush Himalayan countries.

• The contestants may only submit entries that they hold copyrights to.
• The contestants must accept that participation in the contest constitutes agreement to allow their entries to be used by ICIMOD and/or MF for non-commercial promotional purposes (in publications, calendar, screensaver, websites, exhibitions, etc). Due credit will, of course, be given to the copyright-holder each time his/her entry is used.
• The contestants may not submit entries which they have contributed to ICIMOD/MF in the past, or which have already been used elsewhere in whatever form.
• The contestants may not submit digitally manipulated entries ( eg composite image).

This contest is open to anybody from anywhere in the world.

Each contestant may submit up to 4 entries. How you want to distribute your maximum quota of 4 entries among the categories is up to you.
You may, for example, submit all your 4 entries on CULTURE, OR 2 entries on GEO/PHYSICAL ELEMENTS, and 2 on HAZARDS/DISASTERS, OR 1 entry on each of the four categories , OR 3 on LIVELIHOODS and 1 on CULTURE, etc.

Please submit your entries, one entry AT A TIME, using the Submit Image form provided here.

[The entries can only be in the form of black & white, or color digital images in high resolution JPEG format. The size of the entry can be anywhere from 100 KB to 3 MB. The dimensions (height X width ) of the entry must each be greater than 500 pixels.]

extended till 16 May 2008.

A panel of judges will select the entries for grand prizes and four special mentions based on

• composition,
• content,
• degree of 'mountain-ness' conveyed by content,
• originality,
• overall effectiveness in conveying the theme/category of the contest.

For queries or further clarifications, please write to: info [at] icimod [dot] org