Unesco - International Photo Contest 2026

• Unesco

• Deadline: June 30th, 2026

• Category: Travel & Portrait Photography

• Prize: Professional Reflex Camera + Exposure

• Entry Fees: Free

• REGISTRATION: CLOSED. Click HERE for more Opportunities

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Are you passionate about photography and storytelling? UNESCO invites young people aged 14 to 25 from every corner of the world to take part in the 8th Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads International Photo Contest. Grab your camera, explore your surroundings, and share powerful images that reflect the cultural richness and diversity of the Silk Roads.

As part of UNESCO’s Silk Roads Programme, this international competition celebrates photography as a creative and meaningful way to build bridges between cultures. Through the lens of young photographers, the contest seeks to encourage dialogue, strengthen mutual understanding, and promote peace by showcasing the connections that unite communities across vast geographical regions.

The theme for the 2026 edition, “Living Heritage along the Silk Roads,” invites participants to discover and document the traditions, customs, rituals, and cultural practices that continue to thrive today. These elements of living heritage tell the story of centuries of exchange and interaction between people living along the Silk Roads, revealing how cultures have influenced and enriched one another over time.

Across a network that stretches from East Asia to the Mediterranean and includes Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and the Middle East, generations have shared knowledge, skills, artistic expressions, and cultural values. This heritage remains alive through the people who practice, preserve, and pass it on every day.

Participants are encouraged to capture everything from iconic cultural sites and traditional celebrations to everyday moments that reflect community life and cultural continuity. Whether highlighting a master artisan passing on a craft, a family preserving ancestral traditions, or a local ritual that brings people together, your photographs can help tell the story of a living heritage that continues to connect people across borders and generations.