Marai Photo Award
2024
suspended

Marai Photo Award: My Afghanistan

Marai Photo Award: My Afghanistan

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Information

December 20, 2023

The decision has been taken to continue the suspension of the Marai Photo Award. This year's edition will not be held because conditions are not suitable to organise the photo contest in 2024.

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About the Marai Photo Award

Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP

Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP

On April 30, 2018, Shah Marai, chief photographer of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) Kabul Bureau, was killed in a suicide attack.
Throughout his career, Shah Marai dedicated himself to showing the reality of life in Afghanistan in the midst of terror. In honour of his work, AFP is organising a photography contest in his name. This contest also aims to support Afghan photographers.

If you would like to find out more about Shah Marai, please visit this blog.

Concept for the Marai Photo Award: "My Afghanistan"

To the outside world, Afghanistan is defined by the images of violence and tragedy that appear regularly in international news. But there's another side to the country, full of warmth and humanity, which is rarely reported on. Shah Marai understood the importance of showing this side of Afghanistan to the world, and not just what happens on the front lines of conflict. That's what inspired "My Afghanistan." To respect and remember Marai's work, we are inviting Afghan photographers to submit their own pictures of the country.

We are looking for pictures that show the reality of daily life, and that offer insights into culture, social issues and the environment which can only be discovered by people who've been there, telling the story of their Afghanistan.

Contact

If you have any inquiries, please contact us by e-mail here.