In a ceremony at the Freshwater Center (FWC) on 19 April 2023, winners of the Environmental Photo Competition 2023 were publicly honored. After a short introduction to this year’s competition, the team leader of the GIZ SPACES project, Michael Trockenbrodt, congratulated the winners and handed over their awards.
The winner of the first prize, Ochbileg Khurts, received a gift card equivalent to MNT 1,500,000 for his photo Free-roaming Horses in the category Beauty of Nature, taken in the Tuv Province. The runners-up, Adiya Dorj, Soronzonbold Ochirvaani , and Uuganbayar Ganbold obtained gift cards equivalent to MNT 500,000 each for their photos Snow in May in the category Effects of Climate Change, taken in the Umnugovi Province, Secretive Manuul in the category Beauty of Nature, taken in the Khustain Nuruu National Park, and Nature Being Destroyed in the category Environmental Degradation.
The SPACES project had organized the photo competition on environmental issues in Mongolia as part of the My Green Mongolia (MGM) campaign. Almost 100 photos from all over the country entered the contest. An evaluation team carefully analyzed the images according to their technical and artistic quality, expression, and meaning in line with concerns related to the beauty of nature, environment degradation, the effects of climate change, and environmental protection.
The best photos from the competition will be arranged in a mobile photo environmental photo exhibition, which will start at the FWC and continue at other public locations in Mongolia. This will foster public interest towards environmental protection, and raise awareness on how human interventions are contributing to the degradation of natural resources as well as how human conservation efforts can help protect the environment.
On the occasion of the award winning ceremony, the FWC invited about 80 high school students from 10-12 grade interested to pursue environment studies and possibly looking for a job with an environmental organization in the future.
Michael Trockenbrodt briefly introduced GIZ and key objectives and components of the SPACES project. Other GIZ experts explained what the MGM campaign is all about and presented samples from the MGM website and a radio drama series produced by the project. Batzorig Tuvshinjargal, a young GIZ staff member, then talked to the young generation about his own experience working in an international environmental project. Last but not least, all the participants in the award winning ceremony joined the photo exhibition in the lobby of the FWC.
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