Seven Vietnamese photographers represented in 2014 CGAP photo contest

Seven Vietnamese photographers were recognized in the 2014 CGAP photo contest, which aims to highlight stand-out photography depicting financial inclusion around the world.

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) showcases the different ways in which poor households manage their financial lives and raises awareness about the importance of formal financial services for people at the base of the economic pyramid. In Vietnam, some of 79% of the adult population is “unbanked” and lacks an account at a formal financial institution.

Vietnam’s Tran Dinh Thuong, who submitted the photo “Traditional,” received a special mention. His photo depicts a woman transporting ceramic pots at a kiln. The judges appreciated the symmetry in the image and remarked that he captured the photo at exactly the right moment. Six additional photographers from Vietnam were designated as finalists in the competition, which received a record number of 4,820 entries from professional and amateur photographers in 95 countries/territories.

Photo "Traditional" of Tran Dinh Thuong from Vietnam.

Overall, East Asia and the Pacific were very well represented in the winning set of images. Fifteen of the 30 winning images were from the East Asian region, including the first prize winner, Soh Yew Kiat of Malaysia. His photo, “Cormorant fisherman,” depicts a man in China practicing the vanishing craft of cormorant fishing - a traditional technique thousands of years old that involves training birds to catch fish.

“The photo captured a timeless image, paired with a modern story. It’s mythical-looking, and his clothes mirror the shape created by the wings of the bird,” explained Ms Meghan Dhaliwal, multimedia projects coordinator for the Pulitzer center on crisis reporting.

The 2014 grand prize is a USD2,000 gift certificate for photography equipment.

A full gallery of the 30 winning photos can be viewed at www.cgap.org/photocontest.

The judges also selected second and third place winners as well as 27 regional winners, finalists, and special mentions, which were chosen for both technical excellence and depiction of the stories and faces behind financial inclusion.

(Source: CPV)