Times photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi came runner-up in a photo contest organised by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on the theme "Waterways of life" . He had submitted a dramatic picture of AFM rescuers throwing water bottles to illegal migrants packed on a boat.
The main prize was awarded to Andrey Shapran of Russia for a photo of fishermen taken in August 2007 on the river Bol'shaya, near the town Oktiabrsky on the Kamchatka peninsula. Kamchatka is one of the last salmon strongholds on earth, and fish runs have always been crucial for the peninsula's economy. Local authorities and wildlife activists understand that sustainable fishing can last generations, and activists are working on preventing the remaining stocks of the wild salmon from declining.
Organized on the initiative of the Organization's Finnish Cchairmanship, the contest was open to photographers living or working in the OSCE region.
The winning images can be viewed at: https://www.osce.org/photos/show_photos.php?thumb=0&grp=425
Runners-up included: Darrin Zammit Lupi (Malta), Giorgi Darchiashvili (Georgia), Bela Szandelszky (Hungary), and Robert Galbraith (USA).
"The contenders showed a truly creative approach to the theme "Waterways of life". There were many strong images, including a photograph of a man clinging to the top of a vehicle before being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard from the flooded streets of New Orleans, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Another depicted Maltese Armed Forces marines tossing bottles of water to illegal immigrants as a rescue operation gets underway after their vessel ran into engine trouble," said Ambassador Turunen.
The winning photographs were chosen from a total of around 700 images, submitted by 115 professional and amateur photographers from 31 out of the 56 OSCE participating States. The judging took place at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna. The winner will receive a Nokia multimedia computer with a camera, and runners-up will receive cash prizes of €500 each.
The contest was held to mark the 16th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum, which will be held in Prague from 19 to 21 May. An exhibition of the winning images will be displayed at the Forum and featured on the OSCE website. This year the theme of the Forum is "Maritime and inland waterways co-operation in the OSCE area: increasing security and protecting the environment."