Abigail Hadeed, a Trinidadian, has won first prize in the 2004 Commonwealth Photographic Awards, with her striking photograph of two young girls in Guyana. She said when acknowledging her prize: "It is very difficult in developing countries to find support for on going bodies of work and this award will no doubt help me in my continuing efforts to document the changing face of the Caribbean and Latin American region."

The theme of the 2004 Awards is 'Youth' and the photographs were judged on both interpretation of the theme and technical quality. Whilst Abigail Hadeed captured 'youthful innocence' that 'blinds them to the prejudices of polarised societies', the photograph taken by Johan Botha, Africa's regional winner, portrays a youth from a rural district of South Africa devastated by the AIDS Virus and is subtitled 'Hope still shines in the eyes of the youth'. Johan Botha said: "As a South African it makes me proud that we (as Africans) have a positive message of 'hope' to give the world".

The Commonwealth Photographic Awards are an open competition for all Commonwealth residents, and include both colour and black and white photographs, from professionals and amateurs alike. They are organised by the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA).

The winning photographs were short-listed from over 1000 entries and judged in London by Eamonn McCabe, well known sports photographer and picture editor of The Guardian (London); Jonathan Eastland, veteran photographer; and Chris Ison, photographer with the Press Association (London).

Chris Ison said that he was looking for "artistic ability, principally - whether you could immediately tell the story without looking at the caption". Jonathan Eastland said that he looked for "good pictures - animation, professional ability, story content, a combination of all these things". However, he said that to win, the photographs must "stand the test of time and have integrity". Eamonn McCabe said of Abigail Hadeed's winning photograph, "there's something lovely about two cultures, two colours". He added that the regional winners provided a very strong set of photographs, and said, "when you put them together… they don't duplicate each other".

The regional winners are: Africa - Johan Botha (South Africa); Australasia and the Pacific - Steve Ferrier (Australia); Europe - Hannah Mentz (UK); Canada and the Caribbean - Abigail Hadeed (Trinidad); South Asia - Ashima Narain (India); and South East Asia - Pang Piow Kan (Malaysia).

Young Snappers Prize
Young people between the age of 12 and 18 were also invited to compete, under the 'Young Snappers' category. Schools and youth organisations were encouraged to use the Young Snappers prize as a project, which could explore issues such as citizenship, participation, rights, education or health, and would give young people a chance to speak out using their creative and photographic skills.

Jonathan Eastland said that the Young Snappers entries in the final draw were "great fun" and he thought "some of them showed quite good promise".

The winner was Gudiya Pathan, aged 13, from India. The picture features her little cousin "learning to balance herself on the kitchen platform". Eamonn McCabe said, "It has genuine humour. It is a really funny picture".

Dan Eldon Prize
This new prize is awarded to a young photographer aged 18 to 30, whose work is used for social or humanitarian purposes. It is sponsored by Creative Visions, which assists and encourages young photographers, artists and film makers to create work which will help to stimulate positive change in the world. Dan Eldon - a photojournalist - was born in London and raised in Kenya. He worked as a photographer for Reuters in Africa, but died aged 22 in Mogadishu.

The Dan Eldon Prize went to Richard Booth (UK), currently engaged in social documentary projects in Edinburgh for editorial and gallery use. His photograph - 'Wet summer Sunday' - depicts bored youngsters in the fishing town of Fraserburgh in Northeast Scotland looking out to sea and an uncertain future. Eamonn McCabe said that he liked "the aggression in this, and the angle of it is strong". It formed part of a photo essay addressing chronic social ills in the town of Fraserburgh and was published in a Sunday newspaper in March 2003 when readers were invited to donate to Fraserburgh Futures, an organisation dedicated to improving the future for youths like these.

An exhibition of all the winners' photographs will be taking place in London at The Commonwealth Club (18 Northumberland Avenue) from 1 to 23 September (visitors should check for opening times beforehand at 020 7930 6733). Other venues throughout the Commonwealth are being encouraged to host further exhibitions.

The Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) is an association whose membership includes over 1,500 newspapers and news agencies. The CPU aims to monitor and oppose any measures or proposals likely to affect the freedom of the press; they work to improve facilities for reporting and transmitting news; and to promote the training of all involved in the Commonwealth's press.

The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) works for quality broadcasting throughout the Commonwealth. It furthers management and broadcast skills; fosters freedom of expression and the right to communicate; and provides a point of contact and a forum for discussion.

The Awards are sponsored by The Commonwealth Foundation, The Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and the Globe & Mail (Toronto, Canada).

NOTE TO EDITORS:
A CD-Rom of high resolution images is available. For this and further details, contact Jemima Giffard-Taylor at the CPU on +44 20 7583 7733 or jemima@cpu.org.uk

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