The Sony World Photography Awards is an annual, global program for both professionals and amateurs, which makes it a unique venture. The award ceremony is wrapped up as a week-long event, which takes place in the city of Cannes, France. After the ceremony in April, the winner’s photographs go on a global tour.

Award categories vary from fine art, applied photography in fashion, advertising and sports to humanistic and documentary photography of people, social, cultural and current affairs to the environmental image of landscape, wildlife and ecology.

The competition is open for entries from the end of May in the year preceding the festival.

Photography students from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia & Australia, have the opportunity to enrol in a program of a global competition, master classes, workshops and seminars scheduled during the Sony World Photography Awards Events and Ceremony. Details can be found at the special Student Focus section on the SWPA website. [http://www.worldphotographyawards.org/studentfocus/default.aspx]

The SWPA is organised by WPO (World Photography Organisation) in London. You can contact WPO through a contact form on their website.