Young lenses

The Shoot Nations 2009 youth photography competition is bringing the opinions of young people to the attention of the UN. This is an opportunity for young people from the smallest communities in the world to have their voices heard by the highest level of global government. Shoot Nations is an online competition, which makes it accessible to young people all over the world. Run by international children’s charity Plan and photographic organisation Shoot Experience in partnership with MTV, the competition is now in its fourth year. To make the competition more accessible to participants who may not have access to a camera, entrants can submit drawings or graphic designs as well as photographs.
The theme for this year’s competition is ‘Growing Up in the 21st Century’, designed to encourage entrants to look at the world around them and think about their place in it, along with any advantages or limitations that come with being born either male or female. The competition aims to encourage young people to think about the typical male and female stereotypes that we see in the world every day, and to come forward and challenge those stereotypes. Selected photos from the competition will be exhibited in a light-box display at the UN Secretariat in New York City, and there will also be an exhibition of many of the photos held at gallery@oxo at the Oxo Tower Wharf in London.

The competition offers young people a much-needed creative outlet for their feelings and frustrations about the world they live in. The quality of photos received has been astounding for a competition that is solely for people aged 11–25. Encouraging young people to enter a competition such as Shoot Nations gives them the confidence to use an artistic medium to express themselves, and can give them a better understanding of the way they feel about the world they’re growing up in. Plan spokesperson Sharon Goulds, says: “A great photograph can tell you so much about a person’s life; it’s such a powerful, immediate and impactful medium. I’m always very impressed by the standard of the entries from young people right around the world, and I’m sure this year will be just as good if not better.” Since 2006, the competition has received over 2,500 entries from 108 countries. Over 15,000 people have visited exhibitions of Shoot Nations photographs on four different continents, so the competition truly is influencing people all around the world.