UNEP Special Programme Project Photo Awards

Terms and Conditions of the Competition

Competition entries are subject to the following terms and conditions. By entering the Competition applicants automatically accept these Terms and Conditions:

1. Participation in the Competition is free of charge.

2. The Competition is open to all Special Programme project partners that are currently implementing a project with Special Programme Funds. The competition is not open to members of the general public or to representatives of any entity that is not in partnership with the Special Programme for the implementation of a country project on institutional strengthening.

3. Entries must be submitted by 2 April 2024 - 17.00 CET.

4. By entering the Competition, applicants agree and acknowledge that the Special Programme is permitted to receive the applicant’s registration data for the purposes of communicating about the competition. All personal information will be used by the Special Programme in accordance with its Data Protection and Privacy Policy.

5. To enter, applicants must upload images, up to 10, by email unepchemicalsspecialprogramme@un.org. 

6. Images should be no smaller than 1GB and no larger than 5GB (if the image does not meet these criteria, it will not be considered). Images should be JPEG files. All images must be in high-resolution suitable for printing in media.

7. Entries will be judged during the meeting of the Special Programme Executive Board in April 2024. The winners of both categories’ Global winner and Regional winners of the Special Programme Project Photo Awards, will be decided upon by the Executive Board and notified by email after the conclusion of the meeting.  The decision of the Special Programme Executive Board will be final.

8. The photo shall not violate the intellectual property rights and other rights of whatsoever nature in any materials produced by or in relation to the activities of the Special Programme secretariat, which shall be retained by the secretariat. The Applicant shall only use the Special Programme’s name, logo and emblem in connection with the activities under the present photography contest and with the prior written informed consent of the secretariat of the Special Programme or as may otherwise have been approved by the secretariat of the Special Programme within the context of its activities. In no event will authorization of the Special Programme’s name, logo or emblem, or any abbreviations thereof, be granted for commercial purposes.

10. The Special Programme Secretariat reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and remove any entry that does not comply with the requirements set out under this paragraph. By submitting each  entry, the Applicant warrants and represents, the following:

10.1 The Applicant is the sole owner and author of each Entry.

10.2 The Applicant has the right to submit the Entry to the Competition.

10.3 The Entry does not contain personally identifiable information about them or any other person(s).

10.4 The Entry respects United Nations values and does not contain obscene, defamatory, profane, libelous, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, provocative or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content.

10.5 The Entry does not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct which would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.

10.6 The Entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property rights of any third person or entity, or violate any person’s rights of privacy or publicity, including:

a. trademarks owned by third parties.

b. copyrighted materials owned by third parties.

c. names, likenesses, voices or other characteristics identifying celebrities or other public figures, living or dead.

10.7 The entry does not contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than that of the Special Programme Projects.

10.8 The entry does not infringe on applicable laws and regulations, including data protection laws, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other intellectual property rights and other rights of any person or entity; and no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the submitted photo.

10.9 No animals were harmed or manipulated in the making of the image.

10.10 The Applicant confirms that each person depicted in the Entry has granted permission to be portrayed as shown. Any costumes, props or other materials used must be rented or borrowed with the permission of the owner, and all other relevant permissions must have been obtained.

10.11 The Applicant agrees to fully indemnify UNEP and the Special Programme in respect of any and all claims arising out of royalties, fees and any other monies owing to any person by reason of the Applicant’s breach of the foregoing.

11. The Applicant confirms being aware of the Special Programme secretariat’s policies and statement on privacy as well as the terms of use displayed on the Special Programme’ website.

12. The Applicant agrees that the secretariat of the Special Programme will keep digital copies of their photos.

13. If the artwork features the face of a real person, the author must provide a signed document proving that the portrayed person has authorized the use of his or her image for non-commercial purposes.

14. UNEP recognises that the Applicant, as the author of the image, retains full ownership of the copyright in each Entry.

15. The Applicant understands that any image submitted to the competition may be used by the Special Programme, for outreach, marketing and promotional purposes of the Special Programme or of UNEP, for an unlimited duration. The Applicant hereby grants UNEP a non-exclusive, irrevocable license to use the images submitted under the Competition in all media throughout the world in connection to the promotion of the Applicant’s project, the author, the Special Programme Project Awards competition, the Special Programme itself and UNEP. This may include displaying the winning entries and runners up at public exhibitions promoting the Special Programme and/or UNEP and organised by the Special Programme and/or UNEP; and inclusion within the UNEP Website, a Special Programme Newsletter, factsheet or similar.

16. The Applicant understands that UNEP, including the Special Programme Secretariat, shall not accept any liability whatsoever for claims arising out of the activities performed in the context of the contest, or any claims for death, bodily injury, disability, damage to property or other hazards that may be suffered by the Applicant or any other person as a result of their activities in the context of the Competition.

17. The Applicant shall refrain from any conduct that would adversely reflect on the Special Programme Secretariat, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Organization (UN) and shall not engage in any activity which is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the UN, UNEP, and the Special Programme Secretariat.

18. Nothing in or relating to the contest shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of any of the privileges and immunities of the UN, including UNEP and the Special Programme.

19. Any photograph submitted under the Competition and used by the Special Programme and/or UNEP shall carry a credit line. Any failure to provide such credit line shall not be deemed to be a breach, as long as the Special Programme and/or UNEP uses its reasonable endeavours to rectify such failure within a reasonable period from the date of notice of such failure.

20. UNEP and the Special Programme assume no responsibility for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in the Competition, and UNEP assumes no responsibility for technical, hardware or software failures of any kind, for lost network connections, garbled computer transmissions, other problems or technical malfunctions with regard to the Competition. UNEP assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, corruption, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alteration of Entries. UNEP is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail addressed to UNEP or the Special Programme on account of technical problems, human error or traffic congestion on the internet or any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to the Applicant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in the Competition. If for any reason a contestant’s entry cannot be viewed or is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or technical failures, UNEP assumes no responsibility.

21. In no event will UNEP, or its officers, directors, employees, representatives or agents be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising out of any applicant’s access to and use of the event page or the website. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, everything on the Website is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for purpose or use or non-infringement.

22. There are no cash alternatives available for prize winners.