U21 images of hope competition
We are proud to announce that entries from the University of Glasgow have won the first and third prize in the U21 Images of Hope competition 2021.
First Prize (extract above) was awarded to Shamil Khairov, whose image entitled "Rays of Hope" captured the imagination of the judges.
Discussing his entry, Shamil commented, "It has been a hard year. We had to re-define our attitude to other people, and our modus vivendi has also changed: many of us became more attentive to the nature and to the people around us.
"I started taking pictures in my childhood in a provincial Russian town many years ago, and photography has since then always been my non-verbal form of expression. I am sure I am not alone with this passion, and the concept of the Images of Hope competition was an excellent opportunity for us to have a close look at our photo diaries and to reflect on how we see the world around us these days.
"It did not take me long to select a photograph for it, which I entitled "Rays of Hope". It was taken in Victoria Park, Glasgow, when, after a stretch of cold and gloomy December days, the sun suddenly broke through the thick fog and gave us a smile of hope.”
The competition was developed by U21’s outgoing Provost Professor Bairbre Redmond to bring the network together and share positivity across the globe. Given four headings - ‘resilience’, ‘community’, ‘creativity’ and ‘solidarity’, entrants were asked to collect and share images of the affirmation, kindness and optimism that they have seen or experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were over 200 exceptional entries, and an experienced panel of judges considered the originality of composition, the visual impact of the image, the connection of the image to the competition theme and its narrative, and the creative delivery and innovative approach of the entry.
Images of Hope competition winners
- First Prize - Shamil Khairov from the University of Glasgow
- Joint Second - Iman Khan from the University of Auckland, and Marte Krijn from the University of Amsterdam.
- Third Prize – Prateek Bhan from the University of Glasgow
- People’s Choice Award (as voted by members at our 2021 Annual Network Meeting and AGM) - Iman Khan from the University of Auckland
The first prize winning image (above) was taken by Shamil Khairov, University of Glasgow. December was the darkest month of 2020, but on that particular day the sunbeams for the first time made their way through the fog and life immediately became brighter. These were rays of hope.