ST. PETERSBURG — The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library is calling on photographers to enter its annual Foreign View competition.
The competition is open to pictures of Russia taken by foreigners and pictures of other countries taken by Russian photographers in a contest that aims to make people look at other countries and their own country from a different point of view.
"The ultimate purpose is to impart a sense of tolerance and willingness to respect other cultures and bring this feeling to others," said Olga Preobrazhenskaya, senior researcher in the educational programs department of the Presidential Library. "We are talking not only about the acceptance of human values, but also about the public, historical and cultural values of each other. We should perceive one another as good neighbors, as we receive something new and develop through global diversity."
The first Foreign View competition took place in 2010 and photo categories change every year.
This year's theme is "The State Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." Organizers want people to think about the pace of modern life and the flow of continuous information.
"Do we think a lot about things we come into contact with in our life? Are we ready to analyze them and, perhaps, change and improve them?" said Preobrazhenskaya.
The photos will be divided into eight categories: countries and people, populations and traditions, interaction of cultures, modern technology, the depths of history and competition series of photos.
There is also a separate category: "Germany through the eyes of Russians, and Russia through the eyes of Germans," held in honor of the official Year of Germany in Russia and the Year of Russia in Germany.
"There are no restrictions on age, occupation, place of residence, social or professional status, or denomination," the organizers say of eligible participants. "We appreciate not only the professional skill of a particular person, but also something special, seen and captured by a participant, that they saw and learned outside of their country."
Last year, amateur photographers from more than 20 countries participated in the competition.
The deadline for submitting photos to the competition this year is Oct. 9. Potential participants must register on the Presidential Library website, HYPERLINK "http://www.sptimes.ru/redir.php?url=http://www.prlib.ru" \n _blankwww.prlib.ru, and upload their photos. They can be individual photos or a series (two to five images), and they can be taken using a digital or analog camera. The name of the picture, the category and the country in which it was taken should be included in the description.
The jury consists of members of the Presidential Library and representatives of partner photo competitions. The main evaluation criteria are content, compliance with the competition theme, originality and artistic vision and above all technical execution.
The awards ceremony will take place on Nov. 1 in the Presidential Library. The winning photos will be compiled into an electronic collection of the Presidential Library and published in an album.
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