The International Center for Transitional Justice is holding a youth photo contest for the 25th anniversary of the end of the Lebanese Civil War.
The "The War As I See It" contest, which launched Friday, aims to "raise awareness about the importance of truth seeking and truth telling about people’s experiences of the war and post-war violence."
“Our goal with the contest is to help inspire the next generation of peacemakers to think critically and creatively about the war and how truth seeking can help to redress the harms it caused and ensure lasting peace,” Carmen Abou Jaoudé, ICTJ Head of Office in Lebanon, said in a press release.
The three winning photos will be part of a travelling exhibition on truth-seeking and personal experiences of the war. They will be selected by a jury of professional photographers and members of civil society.
The winners will travel around Lebanon with the exhibition to speak with youths and experts and will be awarded free photography courses by Nikon School Lebanon.
The photo contest is set to encourage Lebanese youth between the ages of 15 and 25 to confront the remnants of the Civil War through imagery, when the official stance on the 15-year sectarian war has been complete denial. It was organized in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in Lebanon, the Embassy of France in Lebanon, the French Institute in Lebanon, the French Institute for the Near-East, and the Political Science Institute at Saint-Joseph University.
Contestants will have to submit a photo of an object, a portrait, landscape, or site "that in their opinion represents, or speaks to, the Lebanese civil war, along with a description and a short biography."
The contest will run between Oct. 23 and Nov. 30, with entries to be submitted via e-mail.