Winners of the annual Agility-sponsored Africa Photo Competition, a global contest highlighting the rapidly changing landscape of Africa.
The third year of the competition drew more than 4,000 entries from professional and amateur photographers from more than 60 countries. The winning images showed young Malawian students using tablets at school to learn their local language; a sunset over Nairobi, Kenya; and hot air balloons flying over Luxor, Egypt. A cash prize of $2,000 was awarded for each competition category. The winners were Judith Hermetter from the United Kingdom (Technology); Joshua Wanyama of Kenya (Cities); and Mohamed Kamal of Egypt (Industry). Hermetter also won the Grand Prize of $2,000 for her photograph of young Malawian students learning to read using a tablet. Hermetter said that the photograph shows how technology can bring personalized learning to every child. “Many families in the area were struggling due to food shortages at the time the photo was taken, however the children still attended their classes because they wanted to learn.”
Wanyama, the Cities category winner, believes that the more photos of Africa are shared, the more likely it is that the world will see the continent in a different light. “Africa is a diverse continent, full of beauty. I’ve spent a lot of time documenting the continent, and believe there is a story that needs to be told,” he said.
“Africans and African governments are embracing technology – and as a result transforming all parts of society,” said Geoffrey White, CEO of Agility Africa. “This year’s Grand Prize photograph illustrates the technological shift that is empowering people with access to knowledge and information. As a company investing heavily in African infrastructure, Agility is seeing the advancements the continent has made on a daily basis, and we are proud to share images that reflect these changes.”
Winning images
