One of the largest public photography competitions in the world is back. If you love monuments, photography and making knowledge accessible for all, make sure to participate in the 2024 edition of the Wiki Loves Monuments in India Photography Competition.
Started by Wikimedia Foundation with the help of local affiliates and volunteers back in 2010, this annual competition was brought to India in 2018 by the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group. Its prestige was cemented in 2012, when the Netherlands edition was certified by the Guinness World Records as the largest photography competition.
Interested to participate? Find the most picturesque monuments around you from the portal’s rich repository, take stunning pictures that represent the heritage and architecture of these national treasures in all their glory, and upload them to Wikimedia Commons using the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Give them the right description, and wait for the magic to happen. But hurry, since entries to the Indian edition will close on September 30.
The best part of this competition is that it is democratic and accessible to all. There is no entry fee and participants have the option to submit more than one entry. Moreover, the photographs are used in various Wikimedia projects to promote open knowledge, making learning more accessible too.
While one doesn’t need anything except their photography skills to enter, exciting prizes await on the other side. The first prize will receive a gift voucher of Rs 15,000, while the second and third prizes will receive vouchers of Rs 11,000 and Rs 8,000, respectively. Photographers ranking between 4 and 10 will all receive vouchers of Rs 4,000. Additionally, the top 10 winners will also be given a t-shirt, a SWAG material, and a digital certificate. There are a number of special prizes too, including an additional voucher of Rs 1,000 for a photographer from West Bengal who places in the top 10. You can find the complete list here. The top 10 entries will also represent India in the international round!
To put the scale of the competition into perspective, there were a staggering 5,771 entries in the 2023 edition of the competition. In less than a week of this edition, Wikimedia has already received over 360 photos. The Indian jury also comprises acclaimed photographer Biswarup Ganguly, Humayunn Niaz Ahmed Peerzaada, and Sugato Mukherjee.
You can find all the details regarding the event on the official competition page. For more information, you can also contact Sumit Surai from the organising team at surai.sumit@gmail.com.
