Call to enter 2006/7 Commonwealth Photographic Awards

The CPU is an association whose membership includes over 1500 newspapers and news agencies. It aims to monitor and oppose any measures or proposals likely to affect the freedom of the press; work to improve facilities for reporting and transmitting news; and promote the training of all involved in the Commonwealth's press.

Jane Rangeley, CPU training director, says, "We organise the Commonwealth Photographic Awards for many reasons, one of them being that we believe photography to be vital to the success of a newspaper. We hope that we will play a part in encouraging newspapers to use photographs more on their pages and young photographers to take better pictures.

"By supporting photographers - whether amateur or professional, young or old - we are encouraging an independent view, press freedom and democracy. We therefore endeavour, via these Awards, to promote photography as an important form of media."

The Awards offer a view of how people in the Commonwealth, with its mixture of races, creeds, cultures and ways of life, see themselves and others. In addition, there are two new categories:

• The The Canberra Times/CPU Young Photographer Award will be offered to a young person (aged 21 - 25 on 17 January 2007) from a developing country. The prize is a three-week photographic residency at the newspaper's offices in Canberra, Australia.
  
• 'Three Pictures - One Story' invites entrants to create a storyboard. The purpose is to tell a story of achievement in three pictures. The prize is £250.

The overall winner of the Commonwealth Photographic Awards will receive £1000 sterling, and further prizes will be awarded to the regional winners.

The Canberra Times/CPU Young Photographer Award reflects the fact that today nearly half Commonwealth population is under the age of thirty (900 million). This award will give at least one talented young person the opportunity of learning more about photography and appreciating how a good image can tell a story.

There will also be several exhibitions taking place in Commonwealth cities and featuring the winning images. The first will be in London in March 2007.

The Awards are sponsored by (in alphabetical order), Australia's The Canberra Times, the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, the Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Secretariat, Canada's Globe & Mail and The Royal Commonwealth Society.

To see rules, criteria and the full details on the awards, plus winning photographs from previous years, please visit www.cpu.org.uk and click on the picture link.