UAE to enter world’s largest photo contest
One of the world’s most visited websites has rolled out a photography competition asking UAE denizens to document the country’s historical monuments for the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
The Wiki Loves Monuments campaign, which runs until September 30, has put out a call to trigger happy enthusiasts to capture landmarks that showcase Emirati cultural heritage which can be uploaded to the crowdsourced Wikipedia site.
The first international winner will win a travel scholarship to attend the international Wikipedia conference in Sweden in August 2019, according to its official page. They will also bag a prize valued at €1500 (Dh6,389) and receive a printed copy of their winning photo signed by opera singer Placido Domingo.
From Al Maqta Fort in Abu Dhabi to Dubai’s Al Shindagha Watchtower, UAE participants can feature cultural properties of national significance listed on Wikipedia to find sites to photograph.
Since its inception in 2010, the Wiki Loves Monuments competition has expanded to 85 countries and collected over two million monuments from 70,000 participants. This is the first year the UAE is participating. The aim is to highlight the cultural heritage sites of participating countries to put them under a free license. Nominated pictures will be judged by an international jury panel. Participation is free of charge.
The contest is a collaboration authored by volunteers. It is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest photography competition.