Turkish Climate Advocate’s photo competition, ‘Frame Climate Change’ is calling for professional and amateur photographers to capture the effects of climate change in Turkey. Through this competition, we are hoping to show that the effects of climate change are not only experienced in the North Pole or in a distant desert, but it is also evident here in Turkey.

‘Frame the Climate Change’ photographic competition has been designed by the Turkish Climate Advocates and organised by the British Council, Turkey and aims to demonstrate that the effects of climate change are not experienced only in the North Pole or in a distant desert but also much closer to home. Last year’s fatal flood in Istanbul, the farmers or fishermen who have lost their produce or the miseries of urban life with no drinking water are all reflections of climate change here. Anyone who is over 18, willing to capture an image and become part of the climate change debate is welcome to enter our competition.

The entries will be judged by a panel of experts made up by some of the best known faces and best respected minds in Turkey. The panel consists of;
• Coskun Aral, Executive Editor of IZ-TV, Turkey’s biggest documentary channel
• Deniz Öner, Culture & Arts Editor of the leader news portal of Turkey Hurriyet.com.tr
• Kemal Nuraydın, National Geographic Turkey’s Editor-in-Chief
• Mehmet Nane, General Director of one of the leading electronics retail companies, Teknosa
• Serkan Sedele, the much admired photographer
• Tolga Hepdincler, esteemed academic
• Ümit Ünal, acclaimed director
• Famous actors, Arzu Balkan, Yetkin Dikinciler and Tamer Karadagli

They, along with the Esra Sarigedik from British Council’s My City project, will decide which photographer walks away with the 1,500 TL star prize and which two runners-up receive 1,000 and 750 TL prizes. There will also be a special “readers choice” competition in cooperation with Turkey’s leading news portal, Hurriyet.com.tr. The winner of this completion will receive a Canon EOS 450D camera after being voted as the best by readers of the newspaper’s features pages at Hurriyet.com.tr.

At the competition’s press launch, held in Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir University, one of the judges, Kemal Nuraydin, remarked that the drying of Turkey’s second largest Lake, Lake Tuz (A.K.A Salt Lake), was an issue that has until now been largely ignored.
The British Council Director for Turkey Jeff Streeter, who was also in attendance, expressed his hope that the project would “raise awareness on climate change issues by creating a debate atmosphere where young people can get actively involved. The competition will demonstrate the impact of climate change in Turkey, and remind us that it is not far away, but right next to us.” Actor Tamer Karadağlı added that he believes, “There is something each of us can do to become part of the solution.”

Photography enthusiasts, can visit www.iklimdegisikliginiyakala.com to enter our competition which runs between June 15th and August 15th.

You can also visit www.britishcouncil.org.tr site to find out more information about the competition.