PHotoFUNIBER’26 contest rules
FUNIBER, in collaboration with the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO), the Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (International University of Cuanza, UNIC), the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana de México (International Iberoamerican University of Mexico, UNINI México), the Fundación Universitaria Internacional de Colombia (International University Foundation of Colombia, UNINCOL), the Universidad de La Romana (University of La Romana, UNIROMANA), and the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana (International Iberoamerican University, UNIB) is launching the eighth edition of its PHotoFUNIBER International Photography Contest.
OBJECT AND PURPOSE
For the eighth consecutive year, FUNIBER is organizing its PHotoFUNIBER International Photography Contest as a space to view pictures that tell different stories. Operating in more than 30 countries through distance education, with a network of students, professors, and researchers from different corners of the planet, we value plurality and talent. We appreciate critical but positive views on the future.
Within the framework of FUNIBER’s Cultural Work, jointly with the Social Action area, we are organizing the PHotoFUNIBER’26 contest with the aim of learning about the varied perspectives on our world: perfection, intelligence, creativity, effort, and the mysteries that surround us through photographs chosen and constructed to tell stories, activate perspectives, and transform us through visual language.
PARTICIPANTS
Participation is open to any person of legal age, amateur and/or professional photographers residing in any of the countries where FUNIBER operates Participants must submit their own pictures, which have not been awarded in other contests nor have been commercially exploited, whether for journalistic, advertising, or any other purposes, and that fit within the contest’s theme.
Participation in this contest implies the full acceptance of these rules and agreement with the jury and organization’s ruling.
Employees and collaborators of the following institutions linked to the organization of the contest are excluded from the PHotoFUNIBER’26 contest: Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER), Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (UNIC), Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana (UNINI México), Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana (UNIB), Universidad de La Romana (UNIROMANA), Universidad Europea del Atlántico (UNEATLANTICO), Fundación Universitaria Internacional de Colombia (UNINCOL).
THEME: SOCIAL IMPACT
“My humanity is tied to yours, because we can only be human together.”
Desmond Tutu
What do we see when we look at places where human action becomes a bridge, care, and transformation?
Through photography, we aim to highlight stories that happen in everyday life—hands that accompany, gazes that sustain, communities that resist and rebuild, projects that transform, knowledge that protects, dreams that change…
For example, stories of volunteers who work quietly to strengthen the social fabric, both locally and globally, by offering their time. Or stories in which the camera becomes a tool for empathy, illuminating realities that are often invisible and raising collective awareness.
We can also think about community care that focuses on gestures that sustain life—accompanying dependent people, defending equal rights, neighborhood solidarity, and building emotional networks that protect against vulnerability.
From another perspective, we can consider initiatives where caring for the planet is intertwined with social justice, demonstrating that sustainability is also equity.
Finally, we can create pictures about processes of change —responses of solidarity in the face of healthcare or social emergencies that, beyond the urgency, create opportunities for dignity and a future.
Our goal with this theme is to highlight the power of pictures to imagine, inspire, challenge, and mobilize. Each photograph is an affirmation that social impact is not an abstraction but a real practice that is built, day by day, among us.
We invite everyone to participate in the PHotoFUNIBER’26 International Photography Contest by submitting a photograph that invites reflection on this year’s theme.
WORK REQUIREMENTS
Participants may submit only one (1) photograph.
Works may be submitted with complete technical and artistic freedom; however, only quality adjustments to the original photograph will be accepted.
Pictures made with artificial intelligence will not be accepted.
The entry form must include a title and a paragraph briefly describing the photograph and how it relates to the theme of this contest (maximum 500 words).
JURY
FUNIBER will review all the works submitted and will preselect a maximum of 100 photographs that will go on to the final selection phase.
The finalist works will be reviewed and evaluated by the Jury of Honor, which will select the winners and honorable mentions.
The Organization reserves the right to replace any member of the Jury if necessary.
The 100 finalist photographs will also be displayed in a gallery created on the contest website for public voting, using the ‘Like’ button provided for users who log in with their Google account. Contestants may promote their entry for voting in the communication channels they deem appropriate.
Public voting will be open until May 26th, at 11:59 pm (Spain).
PHOTOFUNIBER AWARDS
The winner of each category as chosen by the jury will receive a €400 prize and an 80% scholarship to study one of FUNIBER’s postgraduate programs.
The photograph with the most public votes will also be awarded with a prize of €300 and a 50% scholarship to study one of FUNIBER’s postgraduate programs. Voting will take place on the contest website https://www.photofuniber.com using the ‘Like’ button by users who log in with their Google account.
The UNEATLANTICO Special Prize will be awarded to the two best photographs submitted by students and/or alumni of any bachelor’s degree of the Universidad Europea del Atlántico, with a €200 prize for each winner.
The UNIC Special Prizewill be awarded to the two best photographs submitted by students and/or alumni of any bachelor’s degree of the Universidade Internacional do Cuanza. Two €200 prizes will be awarded.
The UNIROMANA Special Prize will be awarded to the two best photographs submitted by students of the Universidad de La Romana, with a €200 prize for each winner.
The FUNIBER Special Prize will be awarded to the two best photographs submitted by postgraduate students with a FUNIBER scholarship, who have completed their studies or are currently studying. Two €200 prizes will be awarded.
Additionally, honorable mentions may be given. If so, an accredited diploma will be awarded, and the work will be showcased on social media, FUNIBER’s communication platforms, and any exhibitions that may be created.
Prizes are not cumulative.
The winning entries of PhotoFUNIBER’26 will be exhibited at the Universidad Europea del Atlántico in Santander (Spain).
* Delivery of awards may be delayed for two months from the date of publication of the winning entry.
* The amount or value corresponding to the awards may be delivered in cash, check, voucher, or in kind, as determined by the organizing institutions and the offices where the competition is held. The method of delivery may vary according to the local or administrative regulations of each office.
RULING
The contest’s ruling will be made public through its website, https://www.photofuniber.com, and through the communication channels that FUNIBER deems appropriate.
Once the jury of experts has selected the winners, the winners will be informed of the prize they have won by email. If the organization is not able to contact the winners within five calendar days following the contest’s resolution by the jury, the organization will have the exclusive power to decide whether to reallocate the prizes by choosing a new work or declare the contest void.
The winning photographs must send their digital files in high resolution (see specifications for the presentation of the work in point 9).
PRESENTATION AND DOCUMENTATION
The deadline for registration and submission of entries will be from March 12th to April 20th, at 11:59 pm (Spain).
The winners will be announced on June 25th
For registration, the author must send the digital file in JPG format, in RGB mode, minimum 800 pixels on one side (max 1000px), with a maximum file size of 5 Megabytes (MBs) and 72ppi resolution.
Registration can be done by filling in the form available on the following website: https://www.photofuniber.com. Only one entry per person will be accepted, and in the event that more than one entry has been submitted, only the first form submitted will be accepted.
After the ruling announcement, the winning authors must send their original digital files (to verify authorship) and in high resolution (40 cm. the larger side at a minimum resolution of 300 DPI, TIFF format) within five days maximum.
TECHNICAL, ARTISTIC, AND PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
- The image formats allowed in the contest are TIFF and JPG.
- Photographs shall have a minimum size on the short side of 3,508 pixels and a minimum resolution of 300 pixels/inch. The image mode can be RGB, CMYK, or grayscale, indistinctly. However, for initial registration, it is necessary that the photograph is in RGB mode and in JPG format, as indicated in point 8.
- Digitally altered photographs will not be accepted beyond what is considered reasonable judgment (exposure adjustments, contrast, white balance, and moderate use of HDR, if any). Photomontages and pictures created by artificial intelligence will not be accepted in this edition.
- Winners will be asked for the original files, and two digital analysts will examine the work to avoid awarding prizes to photographs made by artificial intelligence.
- Photographs that have been awarded prizes in any other contest will not be accepted. Participants declare in good faith the originality of their works.
- Failure to comply with the previous point will result in the immediate expulsion of the participant from the contest and subsequent editions. In the event that any of the works had received a prize, the jury’s decision will be void, and the participant must return the prize or its corresponding cash value. The organization reserves the right to take any subsequent measures it deems appropriate.
- Participants must include a title and a paragraph briefly describing the photograph and how it relates to the theme of this contest (maximum 500 words).
TRANSFER OF RIGHTS
Authors of the winning and selected photographs will transfer their rights of reproduction, communication, and publication to the organization of the contest for the purpose of dissemination and promotion of the contest, as well as exhibition in traveling exhibitions linked to the organization, always citing the name of the author and without prejudice to their own rights as author.
Participants assure that they are the owners of the rights of the photographs submitted and are responsible for its content with full indemnity of the contest’s organizers and sponsors.
ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Participation in the call for entries implies acceptance of the terms and conditions. Any contingency not foreseen therein will be resolved by the organization.
