From climate change protests to democratic uprisings against biased and violent authorities, it is clear that 2019 has been a pivotal year for citizens all over the world. It's in this context that free-to-use mobile app Agora launched its first #Photojournalism photo competition to give photographers a way to shed light on specific issues. The competition gathered more than 12,321 submissions from amateur and professional photographers all over the world.
'Young guns,' a striking picture of a group of Filipino children playing with dumpsite toy guns collected the most votes in the app, awarding its author @renebernal with a $1,000 cash prize.
Agora's CEO and Co-Founder said: "People who manage to be in the right place at the right time can become potential journalists for all Humanity. Through #Photojournalism2020, we aim to discover the best informative images by people worldwide. Everyone owns a camera and can create interesting content. Everyone has a screen in their hands, where they can see content and vote for what they like the most. At Agora, we feel that the time has come for people all across the globe to become the main protagonists: the result is the very best expression of humankind, in different themes, shapes, and formats. We believe that every point of view is important and that our mission is to generate a platform where users can create and vote for the best creations of Humanity."
The #Photojournalism2020 contest was launched on Friday 22nd, November 2019. The Top 50 finalists of the #Photojournalism2020 competition got revealed through the app on December 31st. Thereafter, the power was in the Agora users' hands to cast their votes and decide which photo struck them the most, and therefore should win the #Photojournalism2020 contest.
Discover the winning image and runners-up below, and don't forget to upvote your favorites!
More info: agoraimages.com
#1 Young Guns (Winning Photo)
@renebernal (Philippines)
Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
A self-taught Filipino photographer @renebernal shot this staggering photo in a dumpster in San Dionisio, a district located in the southern part of Metro Manila. His photo collected the most votes on the Agora app and won him a $1,000 cash prize.
"Everywhere in the world, children are increasingly exposed to guns, whether real ones or just toys, causing much worry to parents and the community in general. I was amazed to see these children who were playing in a dumpsite located right in the middle of Paranaque City. They were totally oblivious to the hazards of their recreation. Indeed, a poignant reminder of how these children are able to find ways to enjoy their childhood, even in the most distressing environments. I feel so lucky and happy to have won this contest as I would like to use this prize money towards my daughters' education and will donate part of it to the less fortunate children living in the slums. Discovering Agora gave me a chance to showcase my art and hopefully inspire others. I am very grateful for Agora that enables us to hear other people’s stories through photos."
#2 A Soldier And His Son Before Leaving For Duty
@dimasrachmadan (Indonesia)
"I was so moved by this interaction between a father and his son. The child didn't want to leave his dad. The soldier took something out of his bag to give his son in order to make him feel better. If I win, I want to use the prize as a contribution to my wedding and donate the rest to my local orphanage."
#3 Armistice
@rvb_productions (Belgium)
Location: Ypres, Belgium
"I think this shot really expressed the stupid thing about war. I want to create a sad feeling for the viewer. Those fallen soldiers have sacrificed their youth for our future. Some people should actually show more respect for the soldiers of the Great War. We must always remember them."
#4 Pride Walk
@prit28 (India)
"I wanted to portray the joy of freedom of the LGBT community after the Supreme Court of India decriminalized homosexuality by declaring Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. There were more than 200 members from the community on that pride walk. It was quite an overwhelming experience for me to witness something I have never done before. I think photojournalism is a genre that should be completely blunt and honest. It should spread an awareness worldwide."
#5 1 vs. 1
@hrojas73 (Venezuela)
"Due to the social crisis in Venezuela, my way of protesting is to inform through photojournalism. In this photo, you can tell the difference between the armed national guard officer and the protester defending himself only with a wooden shield."
#6 Hoisting
@øystein (Norway)
Location: Melhus, Norway
"This is a normal day at work for the Norwegian search and rescue services. Training situation hoisting over the Norwegian mountains. Often the preferred way of access when the helicopter can’t land. This was a nice day, but that’s not the case every day. I was hoisted down with my kit on a nearby ridge before the rescue swimmer started his training procedure. I had to crawl in deep snow to get the right angle of light for this scene."
#7 11s
@oscar_penelo (Spain)
Location: Barcelona, Spain
"This protest march was set against the imprisonment of the pro-independence politicians. It shows a massive march demanding the reconstruction of a country with the Sagrada Família in the background, one of the symbols of Barcelona and Catalonia, under construction."
#8 Child Playing In Her Parents' Merchandise
@gallery_arief (Indonesia)
Location: Lampung, Indonesia
"The story behind the photo is about a kid who isn't playing with her friends at home or outdoors, instead she is just playing with anything she can find in her parents' shop because she needs to be there every day."
#9 Photojournalism
@amdadhossain (Bangladesh)
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
"This homeless woman lives in the streets of Dhaka. Sadly, this is the most comfortable spot she could find to get some rest."
#10 Flood And Life
by @momin21a (Bangladesh)
Location: Jamuna river under Shirajganj District, Bangladesh
"Southern regions of Bangladesh go flooded every year because of climate change. More than 3 million people have been affected by floods, during 20 days in 21 districts."
#11 Heart Of Fire
@donaldobarros (Venezuela)
Location: Caracas, Venezuela
"It was a dangerous scene. Venezuela was in a difficult and aggressive situation. A lot of people died in those protests. Journalists were targeted all the time, not easy. I did that job for my country. I am an artist, but I stopped my art to give my best as a journalist to Venezuela and the world."
#12 Homeless
@pranab_basak (India)
"A homeless mother was standing on the ruins of her dwelling place and looking for a new destiny. During the remapping of tribal bordering, many buildings were demolished by the local administration. Thus, a large number of tribal people became homeless."
#13 Revolting Tears
by @notsotoya (Lebanon)
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
"What's happening now in Lebanon is necessary to document since our TV stations are biased and do not portray the reality of the people in the streets. This is why I took personal initiative to always be on the streets photo-documenting to portray the closest image to reality. Warlords are now controlling the fate of Lebanese citizens. From 29 years till now the country has been economically deteriorating under the absence of the Lebanese government. The woman in the picture is the embodiment of our economy and her tears shed as she witnessed the revolt that the people took to the streets in hope of a better country."
#14 Kerbelâ1
@bekiryesiltas (Turkey)
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
"During the month of Muharram, elaborate public processions are performed in commemoration of the Battle of Karbala. Thousands of people participate in these commemorations in different provinces and the suffering of the people is as fresh as the first day."
#15 Street Children
@chanthar (Myanmar)
Location: Mandalay, Myanmar
"The daily life of street children in Myanmar, in a dirty and dangerous environment. If I get to win the Contest, I will donate my prize to them."
#16 Two Firefighters Stopping As A Tree Candles In Front Of Them While On A Patrol
@RhythmOutdoors (UK)
Location: British Columbia, Canada
"After a long day, starting at 7 am, we went on a patrol at roughly 6 pm along a section of the fire's perimeter to make sure that the fire had not jumped the guard and continue to burn the untouched forest. While walking an area candles up in front of us, after a brief pause, we kept on going. 5 minutes later we looked behind and the area we were walking was black with smoke. We then received news that the fire had jumped the guard higher up. After hiking roughly and hour up what can only be described as a steep hill we made it to join the others help extinguish the area of the fire. At 9 pm we finished up making it back to base camp at 10 pm ready for supper and another 7 am start. Climate change is one of the biggest issues we face, with a huge percentage of wildfires being man-made, it is vital to spread the word and understanding on just how dangerous wildfires are to those who live in areas of the world with high heat and humidity. Being from the UK where wildfire is extremely uncommon and my lack of knowledge and understanding, to then experience working in the industry fighting fires is eye-opening."
#17 Devotees Return Home
@sakter (Bangladesh)
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
"Took this shot at Dhaka's airport railway station during Biswa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of Muslim community after Hajj. Every compartment of the train along with the engine was overloaded!"
#18 Fire @ Kolkata
@debchak (India)
Location: Bagree market, Kolkata, India
"Firefighters trying to douse the fire at the Bagree Market by risking their lives and rescuing people. The market is located in the congested area of the city."
#19 La Culpa No Era Mía (The Fault Wasn’t Mine)
@beaacevedo (Mexico)
Location: Monterrey, Mexico
"These students were protesting at their university, accusing some teachers and fellow students for sexual harassment that went unpunished. This student is explaining that the reasons why women are violated do not matter. I want to transmit the fight that we, women, have to live nowadays against physical and emotional violence in a society that imposes roles without reason. This photo documents a moment in history when women are fighting for their place in society as human beings, it shows how women today raised their voices to say: no more."
#20 Gilets Jaunes Protest
@inthpeck (France)
Location: Tours, France
#21 Indonesian Army
@georock888 (Indonesia)
#22 Mayday
@cahyanugraha (Indonesia)
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
"This worker sat in front of the police line during the International Workers Day march, demanding proper welfare for workers."
#23 Clean
@swetun (Myanmar)
Location: Pyinoolwin balloon festival, Myanmar
#24 Fire At Chawkbazar In Dhaka
@tanveer.rohan (Bangladesh)
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
"More than 70 people have died in this massive fire that occurred in buildings being used to store chemicals, and quickly expanded to nearby buildings in the densely packed historic district of the city. According to the Fire Service control room, 37 units from 31 stations were working all night to control the fire in the buildings. Many people hid in the small shops but got stuck when the fire spread rapidly. This fire incident was one of the most tragic incidents in Bangladesh's history."
#25 Hope
@adeelchishti (Pakistan)
Location: Lahore, Pakistan
"It was Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations: everybody was happy and enjoying this day. Then, I saw this father and son suffering from polio. I was amazed to see that a father can't leave his son alone in unhappy situations of loneliness at home. He brought out his son outside to celebrate just like any other citizen. His love for his son made me cry, I cropped his head on the photo because I'm not able to display this kind of painful emotions."
#26 Police Barricades
@salimbhayangkara (Indonesia)
Location: Ciamis, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
"Being a photojournalist in these conditions can be very dangerous. This was the moment when the police lined against the demonstrators."
#27 Barcelona’s Riot III
by @javito80
"Some pro-independence protesters had built a barricade in the middle of the streets. I went with some friends to see what was the mood after many hours of sirens and helicopters all over the city, and all the info shared on social media. I brought my camera and I decided to show what happened to the world. 5-10 minutes after this picture, I got shot with foam bullets by Catalan Police acting under the Spanish government orders."
#28 General Strike
@mikirabat.photo (France)
Location: Paris, France
"Paris, 5th December 2019: the general strike brings the french protesters to the streets. Here's the activist group 'Black Block' advancing through the flames."
#29 Journey Back Home
@pallabntv (Bangladesh)
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
#30 Lone Fighter
@dipabrata (India)
Location: Madhyamgram, Kolkata, India
"A huge fire had broken out, it took around 72 hours for these brave firefighters to control. At this very moment, when his team was busy changing the water tanks on the fire engine, this lone firefighter was looking at that huge fire as if he was so desperate to control the fire by himself. l wanted to document his moment of bravery. The rooftop where this brave fighter was standing crumbled later by the amount of heat generated during that fire."
#31 Protest
by @marcelvanbalken (Netherlands)
Location: Madrid, Spain
#32 Neighborhood Protest Against Mining Waste In Land Near Their Houses
@kopernic (Spain)
Location: Llano del Beal, Spain
"The people in the photo are environmentalists and families that live nearby the mining heap lands. I wanted to express the pain of these people through a staged photo. The population where they live is surrounded by mining sediments, resulting in high blood lead levels."
#33 Protest
@regulogomez (Venezuela)
Location: Caracas, Venezuela
"During the 2017 protests in Venezuela, I worked as a photojournalist because that was what I could do: documenting the situation so that people would know about it. This photo was taken while a Bolivarian National Police headquarters was burning nearby."
#34 Refugees In Barcelona
@ray_photographer (Spain)
Location: Barcelona, Spain
#35 Sacrifice
@leowillgo (Venezuela)
Location: Caracas, Venezuela
"In this shot, you can see Willy, a demonstrator who got shot in the face with rubber bullets by the national guard. Willy was playing the violin when he was shot. Like Robert Capa once said, if your photo isn’t good enough it's because you are not getting close enough; in this photo, I managed to capture the stressful moment of a person still in shock by the situation that just happened."
#36 The Biggest Eruption Of Mt. Sinabung, December 2013
@kriswantoginting (Indonesia)
Location: Tigapancur, Indonesia
"To this day, the status of Mount Sinabung is still the same: this volcano hasn't stopped erupting since 2013. By sharing this photo, I would like to convey a message that we humans should have been taking care of nature before it got angry."
#37 Women's Protest | Legal Abortion
@franciscopaez (Argentina)
Location: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
"I wanted to show the strength and power that women gather when they get together. I think that legal abortion in Argentina is one of the biggest claims in Latino America."
#38 Black Smoke
@davidospinatov (Colombia)
Location: Bogotá, Colombia
"The police squad stood against a group of protesters who were attacking the mayor's office. If I win the prize, I would use it to throw a photographic exhibition about what my country is experiencing lately, as a tribute to the victims of the latest riots."
#39 Two Sides Of A Currency, (Police) And (The People)
@mutancrist (Chile)
Location: Concepcion, Chile
"Well, the surprising thing was to see the mutual support of all the demonstrators singing and dancing, each time more people arrived one by one, old people, young people, children with their parents, but at the same time it was very depressing to see how it turned from something peaceful into something violent in a couple of minutes because when the police saw such a crowd of people, they began to distance the people with tears, cars throwing water, chemical dust, and with cars dispersing smoke everywhere."
#40 Tower Guard
@photolivestudio (France)
"This photo was taken during the G7 summit in Quebec during which Donald Trump withdrew support from the United States... Helps understanding why armed police officers were in front of the business tower. What is funny is the contrast between the policeman and the groom with a completely different outfit. One scares the world and the other reassures tourists!"
#41 Protest!
@philmdavis (UK)
Location: London, UK
#42 Firefighter
@yekyawthu (Myanmar)
Location: Myanmar
#43 Liquefaction
@perdiansyah (Indonesia)
Location: Palu City, Indonesia
"I took this photo four days after the soil liquefaction incident. Thousands of buried alive citizens were lying beneath us."
#44 Demonstrations In Barcelona
@kike_p73 (Spain)
Location: Barcelona, Spain
"There were about 1,000,000 people marching at the demonstration that followed the prison sentence for pro-independence politicians."
#45 March For Our Lives
@sascams (USA)
Location: San Francisco, USA
#46 Climate Change March In Barcelona
@clau78 (Spain)
Location: Barcelona, Spain
#47 The Graves Of 20 Nameless Corpses
@barcerumkabu (Indonesia)
Location: Jayapura, Indonesia
"This deadly flash flooding that hit Sentani, Papua, killed more than 100 people, with more than 8,000 families who had to evacuate the zone."
#48 World Champions Day
@pascalpbz (France)
Location: Dieppe, France
"This picture was taken in Dieppe, moments after the football World Cup final of France vs Croatia. It was madness! The crowd invaded the streets all evening and all night. It was a big party that united all the French people. There was no difference to be seen between anyone, il was beautiful to see. Everyone wanted to be photographed, it was amazing."
#49 Fire
@damiane (Georgia)
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
"I was at home when I heard the siren of the fire brigade truck. I grabbed my photo camera and went down the street when I saw the fire blazing and spreading through the pipelines."
#50 Mayday
@robertus (Indonesia)
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
"Indonesian citizens took the streets in May 2019, following the former president's refusal to accept defeat in the national election. I took this photo just before the clash between the protesters and the police guard."
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