Geneva, Switzerland, 1st April 2025 – Photography, when coupled with the internet, is a powerful tool for connecting us with the world. Photography is more than an art form; it is a universal language that connects us, sparks creativity, and tells stories that demand to be seen. Based on this premise, the Giga Photo Contest 2025 is an international festival celebrating the impact of being connected. Launching on 1st April 2025 at Olivier Varenne Art Moderne & Contemporain, with Centre de la Photographie Genève, Giga is launching an open call for photographs and stories related to “The Joy of Connection.”
The event will feature keynote speeches by Christopher Fabian, co-Lead Giga (UNICEF); Aurélie Elisa Gfeller, Dean of Studies at HEAD Genève; Danaé Panchaud, Director of the Centre de la photographie Genève; Misha Vallejo Prut, filmmaker and photographer; and Olivier Varenne, Director and Founder of Olivier Varenne Art Moderne & Contemporain.
‘At Giga, we believe that Geneva – known for its role in international diplomacy and global cooperation – can become a hub for showcasing the powerful intersection of connectivity, creativity, and technology through art. Amidst the chaos of our times—marked by multilateralism and global instability—Geneva plays a crucial role in upholding values-based digital diplomacy’, shares Christopher Fabian.
Hosted in Geneva, the contest will feature a two-day judging event in collaboration with HEAD Genève on 6 and 7 May 2025, followed by an outdoor exhibition of the winning images in June 2025 at Parc Des Bastions. These stories and photographs will illustrate the transformative impact of internet connectivity worldwide, with submissions from over 190 countries where UNICEF operates.
This global photo contest aims to build a participatory global voice, recognizing connectivity as a human right and establishing Geneva as the center of the connectivity hub. Giga symbolizes the convergence of nations in this emerging multilateral world, with art serving as a means to make it comprehensible across diverse stakeholder groups.
‘Giga’s mission goes beyond infrastructure. Internet connection is a key way to reduce inequalities, and can also act as a tool for empowerment. Giga equips young minds with tools to document their lives, express their ideas, and engage with the world. Centre de la photographie Genève is proud to support this mission by providing a mentorship programme to the winners, ensuring they have guidance and support to continue documenting important visual stories’, says Danaé Panchaud, Director of the Centre de la photographie Genève.
‘In today’s creative arts world, which has reached new forms of visibility and significance with the internet and blockchain technology, the basic idea of Giga finds resonance. Neither art production nor distribution at today’s level would be possible without access to the digital world’, adds Fabian.
Every child should have access to quality education through universal internet connectivity, but nearly 1.3 billion children still lack internet at home. Half of the world’s approximately six million schools are still unconnected to the internet, denying some 500 million children and young people access to the internet and the benefits of online communication, learning and economic opportunity.
Giga is a partnership between UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) working to connect every school in the world to the Internet and every young person to information, opportunity and choice. Since its establishment in 2019, Giga and its partners have mapped over 2.1 million schools and supported increased access to connectivity to more than 24,000 schools, benefiting approximately 11 million students.
Connecting the last third of humanity who remains offline is a complex problem. Solving this problem requires out-of-the-box thinking and disruptive innovation, and Giga is at the forefront.
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For photo submission: https://site.picter.com/giga-photo-festival-2025
For more information and interviews, please contact:
Sandra Bisin, UNICEF (Giga) Geneva: sbisin@unicef.org,+33 774745678
Daniel Ginsianmung, UNICEF (Giga) Geneva: dginsianmung@unicef.org,+41 798293259