The Higher Education Commission has invited Pakistanis to participate in the ECO International Mobile Photography Festival 2026, giving photographers a platform to showcase the country’s cultural heritage through mobile phone photography. The competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers aged 15 and above, with each participant allowed to submit up to three photographs.
The festival, titled Our Heritage, is organized by the ECO Cultural Institute under this year’s theme, Passing on Heritage, which focuses on traditions, skills, customs and cultural knowledge passed down across generations. Citizens of all ten ECO member countries are eligible to participate, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, with entries covering subjects such as traditional handicrafts, folk music, ceremonies, farming knowledge, storytelling and oral traditions.
All submitted photographs must be taken using a mobile phone camera, with images captured on DSLR, mirrorless, compact or action cameras, as well as drones, not accepted under competition rules. Organizers have also prohibited AI generated images and AI based editing that alters a photograph’s actual content, though basic adjustments such as brightness, exposure, contrast, white balance, color, sharpness, noise reduction and cropping remain permitted as long as they do not change the original content of the image. Photos must be submitted in JPEG or PNG format, with a minimum short side of 2,000 pixels and a maximum file size of 10 MB, and images containing watermarks, signatures, logos or text will not be accepted.
The deadline for photo submissions is September 12, 2026, with judging taking place between September 13 and September 23, and winners announced on September 24. A closing ceremony and physical exhibition of selected photographs is scheduled for October 4, followed by the opening of an online gallery the next day. Winners in the first, second and third place categories will receive trophies, certificates of honor and cash prizes, with their photographs published in the festival catalogue, while a separate Certificate of Recognition will be awarded to the highest ranked eligible photograph from each ECO member country. Interested applicants can submit their entries through the official ECO Cultural Institute website or by email, following the submission guidelines outlined for the competition..
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