The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, is honored to announce its eleventh annual “Shining a Light” International Photography Contest and subsequent exhibition. This contest and exhibition will be informed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals #5 (Gender Equality) and #10 (Reduced Inequalities). This year the Ali Center is asking participants to submit photographs that illustrate the various ways individual women inspire others and build up their communities.
At the end of the contest period, the Muhammad Ali Center will produce a documentary-style exhibition featuring approximately 30 selected photographs, beginning on International Women’s Day, Saturday, March 8, 2025.
CONTEST THEME
"Shining a Light: Iconic Women, from Everyday Life to Global Heroes”
Icon (noun) - a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere.
Throughout recorded history, women have been forced to live within systems that actively work to suppress them. According to a 2020 study by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, gender-based inequalities that limit women’s access to education, secure and durable housing, and ownership of property directly result in an in overrepresentation of women in impoverished urban areas around the world. Contrarily, when the opposite occurs and women are empowered to pursue educational opportunities and take on leadership roles, individuals and communities around them benefit exponentially.
Despite global progress toward a more just and equitable world, the United Nations Women organization cites a “lackluster commitment to gender equality” as the number one reason that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will not be met by 2030. To usher in a new wave of progress and empower women globally, the world must recognize women fighting for change, locally and internationally.
We invite photographers, amateur and professional, to submit photographs that illustrate the various ways in which women can be iconic and create change for good in their communities and beyond. This contest will accept photographs that illustrate the following themes:
- The direct, positive effect women have on their families and communities.
- Women performing acts to make the world a better place, for themselves and for others.
- Women professionals in fields that are typically deemed “male dominant.”
- Internationally known contemporary and historical women leaders, inventors, educators, and advocates.
- Lesser-known contemporary and historical women leaders, inventors, educators, and advocates.
A few examples of internationally iconic women:
- Mother Teresa - Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, widely regarded as one of the most notable humanitarians in history.
- Malala Yousafzai - Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, the second Pakistani and the only Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize.
- Amelia Earhart – American women’s rights activist and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
EXHIBIT INTENTION
In the resulting documentary-style exhibition in 2025, the Muhammad Ali Center will recognize women who have contributed to making the world a better place. By “shining a light” on the work of these known and unknown heroines, the Ali Center hopes to inspire viewers to create change for the better and support the women who already do.
CONTEST CALENDAR
Call for Submissions: Monday, July 15, 2024
Entry Deadline: Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Muhammad Ali Center Exhibition: March 8, 2025 (International Women’s Day) – January 19, 2026
PRIZES
A monetary prize will be awarded directly to contestants by the Muhammad Ali Center in recognition of placing first, second, or third.
1st Prize — $1000
2nd Prize — $750
3rd Prize — $500
The monetary prize will be awarded in the form of a digital Swift transfer. Should you be awarded one of the above-listed monetary prizes, you will need to send the appropriate bank information to amcgrath@alicenter.org for the transfer.
Information required of winning photographer: Personal bank Swift number, bank name, bank address, name for individual account and account number. Upon notification of award, more information about the transfer of funds will be provided. Please see the Swift website for more information: https://www.swift.com/.
Prizes will be sent within 4 weeks of the notification of placing first, second, or third.
If you live in the countries identified on the current U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, Sanctions Programs and Country Information list, you will not be eligible to receive prize money from this contest; however, you are not precluded from participating in this contest by submitting photographs. Follow the link to see the current OFAC list: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/sanctions-programs-and-country-information.
Other Recognition:
- Press Release
- Website
- Social Media
RULES AND LEGAL CONDITIONS
By submitting a photograph and participating in the “Shining a Light” photo contest, you agree to the following rules and legal conditions:
- Eligibility: All photographers, both amateur and professional, are welcome to participate.
- Age Requirement: Photographers under the age of 18 may participate but must submit a Parental Consent Form along with their submission.
- Submission Limit: Each participant agrees to submit only one (1) photograph. Submissions of more than one (1) photograph will result in only the first submission being considered; all subsequent submissions will be discarded.
- Usage Rights: By submitting a photograph, you grant the Muhammad Ali Center the right to display, publish, and/or use the photograph and your name on its websites, social media platforms, and at other venues for an indefinite period, with appropriate credit given.
- Ownership and Usage: Participants retain ownership and all rights to future use of their photographs, except for the rights granted to the Muhammad Ali Center and other exhibition venues as described above.
- Photo Sale: Photographs submitted to this contest will be used for display purposes only as described above and will not be sold for profit.
- Notification and Credit: Participants will be notified and credited if their photograph is chosen for exhibition by the Muhammad Ali Center or other venues.
- Verification of Eligibility: The Muhammad Ali Center reserves the right to verify, at its sole discretion, the eligibility of contest winners.
- Modification of Rules: The Muhammad Ali Center reserves the right to modify contest rules if necessary. Participants will be notified of any changes through the contest website or other appropriate means.
- Photograph Warranties: Participants guarantee that their photographs are original, do not infringe on any third party’s rights, and that they have obtained all necessary permissions from any third party that appears in the photograph.
- Disqualification: The Muhammad Ali Center reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it finds, in its sole discretion, that any of the above conditions have not been met.
- Judgment: All decisions made by the Muhammad Ali Center and its judges concerning the photo contest are final and binding.
SUBMISSIONS
Submission Deadline: Tuesday, December 31, 2024, 11:59 PM (EST) -
https://form.jotform.com/jsform/231075876524158
ABOUT SHINING A LIGHT
The Muhammad Ali Center leveraged its existing capacity to increase awareness around issues of human rights and social justice on local, national, and international stages. In 2013 the Muhammad Ali Center created “Shining a Light,” an international photography contest focused on gender equality. The “Shining a Light” exhibition opens in conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8 every year and offers educational programming about the selected topic to enhance the audiences’ experience.
ABOUT THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. To learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals, visit https://sdgs.un.org/goals.
ABOUT THE MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER
The Muhammad Ali Center, a 501(c)3 corporation, was co-founded by Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The international cultural center promotes the six core principles of Muhammad Ali (Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality) in ways that inspire personal and global greatness and provides programming and events around the focus areas of education, gender equity, and global citizenship. Its newest initiative, Generation Ali, fosters a new generation of leaders to contribute positively to their communities and to change the world for the better. The Center’s headquarters also contains an award-winning museum experience.
CONTACT
For additional information about the photo contest, rules, awards, exhibitions, and venues, please email amcgrath@alicenter.org or visit www.alicenter.org.