UPPA 2023 THEME ANNOUNCEMENT

This year we’re calling Ugandan photographers to submit photo-essays to UPPA 2023 under the theme Beyond the Headlines. 

The day-to-day mainstream news can’t cover everything, but small stories can have big impacts. Important stories often happen in the margins, and their importance is not diminished by their lack of press coverage. This year we want to invite photographers to submit your stories about subjects, perspectives and issues which matter at your dinner table and in your community even though they are missing from the national conversation. 

The Uganda Press Photo Award 2023 offers a platform to photojournalists and documentary photographers from across Uganda, celebrating your work and helping you to introduce viewers to diverse stories through your photo-essays. Through your creativity, viewers can dive deeper into the critical issues of our age and explore thought-provoking photography of Uganda’s shifting economic, political, social and technological landscape.

A jury of respected industry figures will review submissions and will award first, second and third place prizes, to be collected at the annual exhibition and awards ceremony later in the year. Judges will be on the lookout for great photographs, of course, but they will also be awarding imagination, storytelling and insight. Stories submitted may be on any topic so long as they relate clearly to the theme and have been made in the last year (between August 2022 and August 2023). 

Got questions? We’ve scheduled a number of Q&A sessions about the format and theme for the year so that we can respond to any questions you may have and also offer you guidance for your entries. Sessions will be held on May 25th, June 15th and July 13th. You can register to get reminders of these sessions here.