About

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The World Report Award | Documenting Humanity promotes a renewed form of social engagement through photography. Open to both professional and amateur photographers worldwide, the award highlights visual stories centered on people and their social or cultural realities. These may include public or private narratives, minor or pivotal moments, major human tragedies, or everyday life experiences, as well as intimate and personal human connections. Projects focused on environmental issues, wildlife conservation, and solution-driven photojournalism are also encouraged.

Each year, the contest presents a broad and compelling fresco celebrating excellence in photojournalism and documentary photography. The World Report Award|Documenting Humanity isn't simply a contest that through its prizes economically supports those who are actively engaged in these difficult sectors of photography, but it also provides access to a strong, collaborative community built over the past 15 years, made up of professionals actively engaged with our organization.

The award is organized by the Festival of Ethical Photography, founded in 2010 with the goal of emphasizing ethically significant content and bringing social issues closer to the general public. We believe photography has long been a powerful tool for exposing social injustice worldwide, and through this innovative and multifaceted festival, we seek to explore the relationship between ethics, communication, and photography.

The Festival features over 20 exhibitions by internationally recognized and award-winning photographers, along with talks, workshops, portfolio reviews, screenings, book presentations, photography labs, educational programs for students, and many other events.

Other than the annual event taking place every fall, the organization of the Festival works daily to make sure that the photographers' work is seen and their voices heard.

AWARDS & BENEFITS

• 19,000 euros in cash prize

• Printing of the winners' exhibits and the special mentions' exhibits to be displayed in the World Report Award area of the Festival

• Opportunity for the winners to travel to Italy in October to present their projects

• Opportunity for all the shortlisted projects (10 per category) to be included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues

• All shortlisted photographers (10 per category) will be featured in the permanent online gallery on our site

• Exposure in Italy and abroad through the Traveling Festival exhibit project for 4 years

• International press exposure

• Visibility with industry professionals

• Publication in the annual Festival catalogue for the 2026 edition

• The Festival commits to giving visibility for a year to all the future projects and publications of the winning photographers within our communication channels

How to enter

In order to enter participants are required to make a donation to our nonprofit association.

Donation Details

1. REPORTAGE CATEGORY

General rule:

N.1 project entered: 30 euro

From the 2° projects onward the fee is increased by 15€ for project

Examples:

• N.1 Project 30€;

• N.2 projects 45€ (for example 1 project in the Master section and 1 project in the Spotlight section). One photographer can enter the same project or different projects;

• N.3 projects 60€ (for example 2 projects in the Master section, 1 project in the Spotlight section OR 3 projects in the Master section).

NOTE: There is no limit to the number of projects that a photographer can enter.

2. SHORT STORY AWARD CATEGORY

General rule:

N.1 project 20€;

From the 2° projects onward the fee is increased by 10€.

NOTE: There is no limit to the number of projects that a photographer can enter.

3. STUDENT AWARD

General rule:

N.1 project 10€;

From the 2° projects onward the fee is increased by 5€.

NOTE: There is no limit to the number of projects that a photographer can enter.

4. SINGLE SHOT AWARD

General rule:

N.1 project (1 picture) 5 euros

Examples:

• N.1 Project 5€;

• N.4 projects 20€.

5. NONPROFIT OPEN CALL

General rule:

20 EUR for the first project, 10 EUR every other project

NOTE: There is no limit to the number of projects (pictures) that a photographer can enter.

Photographers can submit the application in the name of and on behalf of the NGO, if they have been authorized to do so by the organization.

PLEASE NOTE

A project can be entered in multiple categories, but can only be awarded in one category of the contest.

The JURY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

The jury's assessment is based on the photographer's ability to tell impactful stories through a series of compelling images with strong sequencing and cohesive narration.

Reportages can either be in color or black & white.

PLEASE NOTE, the award doesn't have a specific theme but the submissions will have to focus on people and their social or cultural stories; public or private, minor or crucial; major human tragedies or smaller daily life stories; intimate and personal relationships connecting human beings. Environmentally focused wildlife conservation projects and solution-oriented photojournalism projects are also welcome.

 The contest awards the best documentary photography and photojournalism projects

Categories

The World Report Award 2026 is divided into 5 categories:

1-REPORTAGE

2-SHORT STORY AWARD

3-STUDENT AWARD

4-SINGLE SHOT AWARD

5-NONPROFIT OPEN CALL

1 - REPORTAGE (2 sections)

Master Award

This category is open to all photographers, with no restrictions of any kind.

Reportages must consist of 20 images minimum and 25 images maximum..

There are no geographical or temporal limits regarding the place or time in which the reportage was taken.

1° classified

❏ The prize will be 8,000  Euros, before taxes

❏ Printing of the exhibit

❏ Opportunity to be included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues

Spotlight Award

This category is open to all photographers who have never received one of the following awards before December 31st, 2025: World Press Photo, W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, Pulitzer Prize, POYi Picture of the Year, and World Report Award.

Mentions and multimedia category are not considered as awards, so participating in the category will still be possible.

Reportages must consist of 20 images minimum and 25 images maximum.

There are no geographical or temporal limits regarding the place or time in which the reportage was taken.

1° classified

❏ The prize will be  4,000 Euros, before taxes

❏ Printing of the exhibit

❏ Opportunity to be included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues

2 - SHORT STORY AWARD

This category is open to all photographers, with no restrictions of any kind.

Reportages must consist of 5 images minimum and 10 images maximum.

There are no geographical or temporal limits regarding the place or time in which the reportage was taken.

1° classified

❏ The prize will be 3,000  Euros, before taxes

❏ Printing of the exhibit

❏ Opportunity to be included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues

3 - STUDENT AWARD

This category is open to students currently enrolled in a school of photography or who graduated from a school of photography after 31st December 2024.

Reportages must consist of 20 images minimum and 25 images maximum.

There are no geographical or temporal limits regarding the place or time in which the reportage was taken.

1° classified

❏ The prize will be 2,000  Euros, before taxes

❏ Printing of the exhibit

❏ Opportunity to be included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues

4 - SINGLE SHOT

This category is open to all photographers with no restrictions of any kind.

Every photographer can submit as many pictures as one likes. Only one picture per photographer can be selected in the top finalists and eventually be elected as the winner of the category.

There are no geographical or temporal limits regarding the place or time in which the reportage was taken.

The category, like all the others, does not have a specific theme. Participants can submit any type of image (for example, from news photography to nature photography)

1° classified

❏ A single shot will be awarded. The prize for the first classified will be  2,000  Euros, before taxes

30 finalists

❏ The top 30 finalists of the Single Shot category section will have their photos exhibited during the 2026 edition of the Festival and/or included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues.

❏ The top 30 finalists of the Single Shot category section could be to included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues

5-NONPROFIT OPEN CALL

This category is open to NGOs, volunteer organizations, foundations, cultural associations, public institutions, public schools (all levels), and universities.

• Reportages must consist of 15 images minimum and 25 images maximum;

• Every organization can present an unlimited number of photographic works;

The photographic work/works selected will be exhibited at the Festival of Ethical Photography in Lodi, Italy and it/they will be included in the official program of the event.

• Reportages can either be in color or black&white, and will have to form a focused and meaningful story, related to the work of the non-profit entity and the context in which it operates;

• The reportage has to represent the subjects with dignity and with respect of fundamental human rights in the context in which they live;

• There are no geographical or temporal limits regarding the place or time in which the reportage was taken.

The assessment of the jury will award the ability of the photographer to build a narrative and emotional story with a compelling series of images.

The purpose of the photographic reportage is to spread knowledge on the themes of international cooperation, sustainability, and global development in civil society.

NONPROFIT OPEN CALL, PLEASE NOTE

The reportage will only be considered if submitted by the nonprofit entity itself as the commissioner and NOT by a photographer.

*Photographers can submit the application in the name of and on behalf of the NGO, *if they have been authorized to do so by the organization.

**Organizations selected as winners by the Artistic Direction of the Festival

The jury can select up to four organizations:

• The reportages they submit and selected as winners will be printed and exhibited in the nonprofit area of the 2026 annual edition of the Festival (the printing cost will be covered by the Festival)

• The selected organizations will have the opportunity to organize promotional and advocacy activities during the Festival (in accordance with the Festival on the format and structure of such activities)

• Opportunity to be included in the screening program within one of the Festival's venues

FOR ALL CATEGORIES, PLEASE NOTE

• If the juries, at their own discretion, believe that some works, other than the ones selected for each category, are of honorable mention, they could be included by the organization of the Festival in the official program of the Festival 2026;

• The categories of this contest have no specific theme.

The award will give attention to works focusing on people and their social or cultural stories; public or private, minor or crucial; major human tragedies or smaller daily life stories; intimate and personal relationships connecting human beings. Environmentally focused wildlife conservation projects and solution-oriented photojournalism projects are also welcome.

The contest awards the best documentary photography and photojournalism projects that tell impactful stories with strong sequencing and cohesive narration;

• The jury has the faculty to pick a single picture that is part of a project submitted to other categories of this award and include it in the Single Shot category selection made of 30 pictures in total. The picture picked doesn't have to be chosen from any of the projects shortlisted in the categories of this award;

• The jury has the faculty to select projects that are shortlisted in some sections to include them in screenings within one of the Festival's venues;

• The jury has the faculty to move one projects from one category to another if it considers it more appropriate; 

• There are no restrictions in entering a single photograph to the Single Shot category even if it is also part of a project entered in other categories of this award;

• There is no limit to the number of projects that a photographer can enter to the categories of the World Report Award;

• There is no limit to the number of projects that a nonprofit organization can enter to the Open Call for the nonprofit world;

• The photographic work presented in the categories of this award doesn't necessarily have to be unpublished and there is no time limit and no geographical boundaries.

SHORTLIST and WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

The shortlisted photographers and later the winners for each category (respectively on May 19th and on May 26th, 2026) will be announced through the social media channels of the Festival (IG, FB, LinkedIn) and the official Festival website.

A newsletter will also be sent to the Festival's general database.

TRAVEL TO ITALY

The organization will cover travel and/or accommodation expenses (according to budget availability) for all of the winners, inviting them to travel to Lodi, Italy, in the month of October to present their projects.