The second National Youth Photo Festival 2017 was launched on Wednesday to encourage young professional and amateur photographers to capture images of Viet Nam and its people.

Vietnamese landscapes and minority groups and their traditional culture and lifestyle should be featured at the National Youth Photo Festival 2017, which aims to encourage both professional and amateur young artists. 

Organised by the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition, the event aims to highlight love for country and the hopes and dreams of young people through the visual arts.

Images of landscapes, minority groups and traditional culture and lifestyle are also encouraged.  

Themed "Young Thought-New View", the festival is seeking both original and traditional perspectives.

The organisers hope the festival will illustrate the power and reach of photography, a common language that needs no translation and provokes insights that words often struggle to convey.

Supported by local authorities and organisations, including the Ho Chí Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, the Ministry of Education and Training and Viet Nam Photographers Association, the festival attracts people aged 18 to 35 from within and outside the country.

Submissions should be original works. They should not have been submitted in previous competitions or exhibited publicly. The works should be in black and white and colour, and without editing.

Organisers said a high priority would be given to entries focusing on creative and unique views and presentations.

Entries may be submitted as a single photograph, a set of photos, or as a photo essay.

Participants should send their work before August 15 to the organising board’s website www.festivalnhiepanhtre2017.com.

The organisers will award eight top prizes, including a first prize worth VNĐ30 million (US$1,300), two second prizes and five third prizes, worth several million đồng.  

Twenty consolation prizes will also be given.

The best photos will be exhibited in public places in HCM City, Hanoi and Da Nang to celebrate National Day on September 2.

Last year, the festival generated huge interest among the photographer community and helped increase public awareness of the country’s history, economy, culture and tourism sites.

More than 206 photos chosen from several thousand by the participants were exhibited. 

VNS