Photography Showcase

The annual #AfricanCITYFOODmonth photo competition, in alignment with AfriFOODlinks, offers a platform for photographers across the continent to share detailed narratives about their city’s food systems. #AfricanCITYFOODMonth, hosted every July, is a campaign that brings together stakeholders from different sectors to share ideas and experiences of urban food systems in African cities. It recognises that food can be a powerful lever for solving many problems in cities, as it is integral to how we plan and run our cities as well as our daily lives. The theme for the 2025 campaign is ‘No Child Left Behind: Nourishing Africa’s Urban Future’.

2025 Photo Competition: Who feeds the future?

In 2025, #AfricanCITYFOODMonth invites photographers to share compelling images and stories that honour the often unseen champions working to nourish Africa’s next generation. Think: school cooks and local vendors catering to children, healthcare workers supporting maternal nutrition, those working in the first 1000 days, those raising awareness on breastfeeding, youth-led food initiatives, policy makers, fathers and the role they play, and the many spaces where children eat such as school kitchens, community feeding centres or even backyard gardens. These everyday champions are shaping a more dignified, inclusive and resilient food future for Africa’s cities. We want to celebrate them and share their stories.

This year’s photo competition asks: Who are the people and what are the places ensuring the future is fed?

We invite you to submit photographs and a short story of an unsung hero or champion in your city’s food system.

Congratulations to the 3 winners!

Entry requirements:

Each entry must include:

3 photographs that clearly tell the story of how the often unseen champion(s) is feeding the future:

– The Person: a portrait of the often unseen champion(s) such as the youth leaders, farmers, fathers, caregivers, or food workers who are helping to nourish their communities. Make sure to include your

– The Place: An image showing the environment where their food-related work happens. This could include community kitchens, school gardens, markets, feeding centres, rooftops, backyard plots or any urban food space.

– The Future:A photo capturing the impact of their efforts. For example, children or youth receiving meals, learning about food, or participating in growing, cooking or sharing food in community or school settings.

A brief title

A short description (100-word limit) about the champion(s) and their role in feeding the future.

An insightful quotation from your champion that reflects their work or outlook (40-word limit)

Please note that due to child protection laws, NO images that contain children’s faces or identifiable portraits will be considered.

Submission:

Entries open on 2 July 2025 and close on 31 July 2025, 17:00 SAST. No late submissions will be considered.

You may submit up to three entries, but each must showcase a different champion (following the guidelines).

Submit photographs as JPEG/PNG files, each of maximum 10 MB size, with the following naming format: Name + Surname + Photograph Number (e.g. Jane Doe 1).

Multiple files can be submitted per entry, but these must all be related to the entry title and description. Otherwise submit a separate entry.

Eligibility:

Due to privacy and child protection laws, NO images that contain children’s faces or identifiable portraits will be considered. Children in the distant background are acceptable.

Image content must be relevant to the #AfricanCITYFOODMonth 2025 theme.

Images can be taken with any kind of camera. Minor editing (slight changes to cropping, sharpening, contrast, etc.) is allowed, but the images should look natural.

Only share portraits with permission. Most importantly, images must not be degrading to the dignity of the subject.

Use rights:

Each participant retains all copyrights to their photographs and attribution to the photographer is provided alongside any use of the photographic submissions.

By submitting a photographic entry to this competition:
- -Participants confirm that the submission is their own original work and that they have the rights and permissions necessary to share it with ICLEI Africa;
- -Participants grant ICLEI Africa the non-exclusive right to showcase the photograph(s) on the #AfricanCITYFOODMonth, #RISEAfrica, #AfriFOODlinks and ICLEI Africa platforms, as well as to use them for promotional purposes in print or digital formats.

Shortlisting and prizes:

Based on the selection criteria, 8-12 entries will be shortlisted.

Our judging panel will then select 3 winners to be awarded $500 each.

Winners will be announced in September and showcased on our social media platforms — LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter/Bluesky — and websites: afriFOODlinks.org and africa.iclei.org.

Disclaimer:

ICLEI Africa reserves the right to define the particular criteria for choosing the most compelling submission and not to select winners.

For any inquiries about the photography competition, please contact: Sinethemba Mthethwa at sinethemba.mthethwa@iclei.org with Mulesa Lumina in cc at mulesa.lumina@iclei.org.

The AfricanCITYFOODmonth Photo Competition is supported through the AfriFOODlinks project, coordinated by ICLEI Africa and funded by the European Union.