About

The internationally renowned UNICEF Photo of the Year competition is open every year to professional photographers from around the world. The organizer of the competition is the German Committee for UNICEF e.V. and the UNICEF Foundation. UNICEF Germany is inviting international photo experts to nominate photojournalists from their country, agency or neighbourhood who have taken pictures of the living conditions of children (the United Nations defines children as all persons under the age of 18). Only nominated photographers may submit their images to the competition.

What winners receive

An independent jury of photography experts selects the winners of the first, second and third prizes as well as the honourable mentions of the UNICEF Photo of the Year 2026. The winners will be informed by telephone, letter or e-mail immediately after the jury meeting, which will take place in mid-November.

The awarded works will be presented at the House of the Federal Press Conference, Berlin, on December 22, 2026 and showcased in an exhibition there. The winner of the first prize will be invited to the award ceremony and press conference in Berlin. Travel and accommodation costs are covered. All awarded photographers will be honoured with a certificate, and their works will be published on www.unicef.de/photo.

The prize is not endowed. Further exhibitions will follow at the Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus, Berlin, at the "horizonte zingst" photo festival and at the Stadtmuseum Schleswig, Germany. The exhibition prints will be produced with the support of Epson Germany. All current exhibition dates can be found on unicef.de.

Judging criteria

The following judging criteria are based on and subject to the detailed Conditions of Participation.

The jury is looking for high-quality documentary photography that focuses on the living conditions and fates of children around the world. These stories can be thought-provoking or disturbing, but they can also convey hope and compassion.

Only one photojournalistic work (a reportage, essay, or series consisting of 10-15 photos, taken in 2025 or 2026) may be submitted. For long-term projects, at least 25 per cent of the photographs must be from the current year. The images must have been taken with a camera (lens-based), produced without AI or other tools and without content manipulation in post-production. The image files must have a minimum long side length of 3,000 pixels.

Previous submissions, publications or awards are allowed. Work commissioned by photo agencies, NGOs or similar organisations must be properly credited. File names may not allow conclusions about the author, and the metadata must include a caption, location, and date. The organiser reserves the right to request RAW files from the photographer if deemed necessary.