Auckland photographer wins global competition

Auckland photographer wins global competition

Young New Zealand Photographer Awarded Unique Opportunity To Join 'Eye See' Photography Workshop In Ethiopia

Rachita Castelino, aged 16 of New Zealand is one of six young winners of a global photography competition run by UNICEF and the World Photography Organisation. This week she will arrive in Ethiopia to attend a unique workshop where she will receive tuition by acclaimed photographer and humanitarian Reza.

The six youngsters - from Brazil, Israel, Morocco, New Zealand, Romania and the United States - will join 24 Ethiopian children at the workshop in Awassa from October 31 to November 4, 2010.

The 'EYE SEE' workshop, themed around children's rights, is a photo project supported by Sony Corporation and UNICEF that aims to provide children all over the world with the opportunity to express and share their experiences through digital photography.

The six winners, who were invited by Sony Corporation to join the workshop, are: Rachita Castelino (aged 16) of New Zealand; Ioana Velescu (aged 18) of Romania; Chyi-Dean Shu (aged 17) of the United States, Imane Tirich (aged 19) from Morocco; Mariya Maximenko (aged 16) from Israel and Giuliane Bertaglia Correia (aged 16) of Brazil.

Joining them from Ethiopia are members of ten youth centres from Addis Ababa, Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray regions that are being supported by UNICEF with media production equipment and training as part of programmes designed to improve adolescent participation and advocacy skills.

Last year, to mark the twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November, 2009, these six winners were among thousands of young people from around the world who submitted photographs and written pledges highlighting one of the five fundamental children's rights: the right to survival; the right to education; the right to health; the right to protection from harm, abuse or exploitation; and the right to be heard. UNICEF Ambassadors such as David Beckham and Ewan McGregor made their own photo pledges to support the cause together with world renowned photographers including Reza who will be leading the photography tuition in Ethiopia.

Rachita, who attends Baradene Sacred Heart College in Auckland, said: "The reason I entered this competition is because at my time in India, I noticed the amount of poverty and struggles the children had to go through everyday. I felt that I needed to bring awareness to it and the only way I know how to do it is through the use of my camera."

Reza, who chaired the judging panel said: "Photography plays a more and more important role in human connections. This new tool will, without a doubt, be a common universal language for generations to come. UNICEF's action for the youth, giving them the possibility to use this tool to cross the language barrier, is a new step towards a better future".

Astrid Merget, Creative Director, World Photography Organisation said: "It's a great privilege for WPO and its Academy Members to work with UNICEF and EYE SEE in helping to give these young people the skills and equipment to communicate issues that are important to them through the powerful medium of photography."

Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Representative for Ethiopia, said: "UNICEF is delighted to be hosting this workshop for these six talented young photographers, alongside 24 Ethiopian children. We hope all the participants will gain valuable insight into the challenges faced by children in Ethiopia and that they will continue to use photography to advocate for children's rights."

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20th November 1989 and established a set of fundamental rights for all children and young people that protect them against violence, discrimination and harm. Today, the CRC has been signed by almost every single country, making it the most widely ratified human rights agreement in the world. ENDS

For more information Jill Cotton Colman Getty on behalf of the World Photography Organisation Tel: +44 (0)20 7631 2666 Email: jill@colmangetty.co.uk

Lawrence Watt, Unicef Wellington Tel: 00 64 4 815 9360 Email: lawrence@unicef.org.nz

Notes to Editors Press access to photos and written pledges

* Photography from the workshop in Ethiopia will be available to download from each day of the trip from 31 October 2010. Please contact Colman Getty.

• Interviews are available with: renowned photographer and humanitarian Reza; spokespeople from WPO, UNICEF and EYESEE and with the young participants of the workshop. Please contact Colman Getty

• Rachita Castelino's winning image "Selling for Survival" was taken in Mumbai and shows a young boy on the city's streets attempting to trade whatever he has but is seemingly unnoticed by passers by About the World Photography Organisation

• Created by the World Photography Organisation, the World Photography Awards, sponsored by Sony Corporation, launched in 2007. The World Photography Organisation supports professional, amateur and student photography, lending a global platform for the photographic industry to communicate, converge and showcase current trends in Photojournalism, Fine Art and Commercial photography. Delivering various initiatives and programmes across this global community under the "World Photography" brand, these programmes involve the photographer in commercial, cultural and educational activities within the many industry sectors, whilst also creating cultural activities for the public to participate in. Also currently included within the World Photography portfolio are the World Photography Student Focus competition; the World Photography Festival, the World Photography Focus Programme and the World Photography Collection.

• The World Photography Organisation website - www.worldphoto.org - features an online gallery and news section. It also includes comprehensive information about the awards, the categories, a current list of World Photographic Academy members and key dates.

About Sony Corporation

• Sony Corporation is a leading global innovator of audio, video, communications and information technology products for both the consumer and professional markets. Sony is renowned for its audio-visual products, such as the BRAVIA(tm) LCD high-definition television, Cyber-shot(tm) digital camera, Handycam(r) camcorder, "" (pronounced Alpha) digital SLR camera, and Walkman(r) MP3 player as well as its VAIO(tm) personal computers and high-definition (HD) professional broadcast equipment, highlighted by the XDCAM(r) HD. Offering a complete end-to-end HD value chain and with its electronics, music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is one of the world's leading digital entertainment brands, employing approximately 170,000 people worldwide.

For more information on Sony, please visit http://www.sony.net

"Sony", "WALKMAN", "VAIO", "Cyber-shot", "Handycam", "", "BRAVIA" and "XDCAM" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About the Convention on the Rights of the Child

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20th November 1989 and established a set of fundamental rights for all children and young people that protect them against violence, discrimination and harm. Today, the CRC has been signed by almost every single country, making it the most widely ratified human rights agreement in the world.

Great progress has been made in the past, including improvements to under-five child mortality and falling numbers of children working in hazardous labour. However, major challenges remain. Between 500 million and 1.5 billion children experience violence annually; 150 million children aged between five and 14 are engaged in child labour and more than 1 million children are detained through justice systems around the world at any one time. About UNICEF

• UNICEF is the world's leading organisation working for children and their rights in more than 190 countries. As champion of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF works to help every child realise their full potential. Together with our partners, UNICEF delivers healthcare, nutrition, education and protection to children in urgent need, while working with governments to ensure they deliver on their promise to protect and promote the rights of every child. UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations from individuals, governments, institutions and corporations, and is not funded by the UN budget. For more information, please visit www.unicef.org.uk.

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