UAE photographers had the highest increase in submissions over last year, reflecting the growing interest in photography in the country

Abu Dhabi – September 8, 2019 - National Geographic Abu Dhabi (NGAD) and Almarai announced today that over 50,000 photographs from across the Arab World have been submitted for the 9th edition of ‘Moments’, its annual regional photography competition to nurture the talent of aspiring regional photographers.
‘Moments’ has established itself as one of the largest and most popular competitions in the region, providing talent with wide exposure and the unique chance to learn from National Geographic photography experts through a once in a lifetime photography travel expedition. 
Reflecting National Geographic and Almarai’s commitment to youth development, ‘Moments’ featured a returning category this year for photographers aged 13-17.

The competition is held in partnership with Almarai, who has been a strategic supporter of this platform for the last 6 years as part of a shared vision of nurturing youth and talent from the Middle East.

Held under the theme of ‘Souqs of the Middle East’, the 2019 ‘Moments’ edition captured the diversity and stories of markets from around the Arab world, which have been at the heart of the region’s culture and history. Each photograph carries with it an authentic, detailed and complete description of the story behind the image, which aims to add geographic, social and cultural context to the photo. 

The ‘Moments’ competition proved increasingly popular with GCC photographers, who constituted 32% of all entries in this year’s edition, doubling last year’s entries which stood at 16%. UAE photographers showed the highest increase in submissions in the GCC with a 62% increase in submissions over last year, significantly driving entries to this year’s edition of the competition. 

Shortlisted photographs are expected to be announced in the next few weeks following a selection by this year’s judging team, which features Hussam R Abdulqader, CMO of Almarai and Mohammad Muheisen, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner and National Geographic photographer.
Moments’ is one of the largest photography competitions in the region, which attracted over 200,000 entries overall since its launch. The Grand Prize winner will have his/her photograph printed in the National Geographic magazine Arabic edition and earn a trip of a lifetime, a 10-day expedition Trip, worth $10,000, where they will be mentored by National Geographic expert photographers, in addition to $5,000 photography equipment. The winner in the kids category will receive photography equipment worth $5,000. 

‘Moments’ was held for the sixth consecutive year in partnership with Almarai, the largest vertically integrated dairy company in the world and MENA’s largest food production and distribution company. The company has been a strategic partner of National Geographic Abu Dhabi and the Moments Competition since 2014, with a shared vision and commitment to support Arab budding photographers, through offering them exposure and the possibility to be discovered on such a prominent platform.