Bases 2025

 

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

"AGE DOES NOT DEFINE US. OUR GAZE DOES"

 

Introduction

The General Foundation of the University of Salamanca, through CENIE, announces the 6th edition of the Photography Contest within the framework of the Long-Living New Societies project. This call promotes a renewed vision of longevity: not as an individual issue or a demographic statistic, but as a structural dimension of our societies and an opportunity to reimagine time, relationships, and ways of living.

The motto of this edition,

“Age does not define us. Our gaze does.”

is not just an invitation to take photographs, but to understand. To look at longevity not as a number, but as a plural experience. Because what truly matters is not how many years we have, but how we inhabit time, how we relate, how we look and allow ourselves to be seen.

We live increasingly longer lives, and with that comes an essential question:

Will we be able to look with new eyes at the world that opens up with these longer lives?

This contest proposes a creative answer: through photography, to discover and share the multiple ways in which people live, create, care, learn, celebrate, or transform throughout time.

We want images that broaden the imagination. That bear witness, yes, but also propose. Photographs that speak of longevity as a journey, as a bond, as potential. Images that remind us that living longer also means imagining more.

The fundamental objectives of the contest are:

To recognize longevity as a diverse, dynamic, and constantly evolving reality.
To make visible the diversity of life trajectories and ways of being in the world.
To promote new visual representations that reflect the richness of long-living societies.
To explore, through photography, the multiple ways in which lived time is experienced and constructed.

Deadline

The 6th edition of the Photography Contest, promoted by the General Foundation of the University of Salamanca (FGUSAL) within the framework of the Long-Living New Societies project, will begin on June 1, 2025, and will end on November 30, 2025, at 24:00h (UTC+01:00 – Madrid time).

By registering, each participant fully accepts the rules of the Contest and certifies that they are 18 years of age or older.

Categories

The following 6 categories must be based on the motto that gives the Contest its title:
“Age does not define us. Our gaze does.”

1. Portraits with Soul

   Images that capture faces, bodies, or gestures that speak of life trajectories, showing the expressive power of people at any stage of life.

2. Ageless Moments

   Photographs of everyday or exceptional situations where age is not a limit, but a framework of possibilities: play, work, relationships, creation, movement…

3. Iberian Gazes

   Scenes that represent the diversity of long-living societies in Spain and Portugal, highlighting the ties, contrasts, or similarities between both countries.

4. The Borderless Raia

   Photographs taken in the cross-border area between Spain and Portugal that show shared life experiences, intergenerational or territorial cooperation, and new forms of active longevity.

5. Artistic Expressions

   Images intervened either digitally or manually for creative purposes that engage with the contest theme from a free, symbolic, or conceptual perspective.

6. From Above

   Photographs taken with drones or from the air that reveal new perspectives on how territory and time are inhabited when viewed with distance, breadth, and wonder.

    

In any category, for a photograph to be eligible, it must have been taken by the participant between January 1, 2025, and the contest’s closing date. By submitting a photograph, the participant certifies being the sole creator and copyright holder of the image.

Submitted photos are eligible in all categories. Minor adjustments are allowed for all categories, including sensor dust or scratch removal from scanned negatives, dodging and burning, sharpening, contrast, toning, slight color adjustment, and conversion to grayscale. Adding or removing objects is not permitted, except in the Artistic Images category. If the jury determines that a photographer has altered the image beyond normal photojournalistic standards, it reserves the right to include it in the Artistic Images category or to disqualify it. Image compositions including HDR and stitched panoramas will be considered artistic. AI-generated images are not permitted.

For photos in which one or more people are recognizable, the participant must be able to provide the appropriate authorization from the person(s) appearing in the photo or, in the case of a minor, from a parent or guardian, if requested by FGUSAL.

Similarly, participants whose photos depict the work of other people (such as sculptures, statues, paintings, and other copyrighted works) must be able to provide authorization from the rights holder to FGUSAL, if requested. When photographing someone else’s work, it must be treated as an object in its context, not as a full close-up of another person’s creation.

Beyond what has already been stated regarding copyright treatment, photos that violate or infringe upon another person’s rights will not be eligible.

Likewise, sexually explicit, obscene, violent, or otherwise inappropriate content, as judged by FGUSAL, will not be eligible.

Ethics

Participants must disclose the circumstances under which an image was captured, as well as any instructions given to a person appearing in the image.

The well-being of the person(s) featured in the images, as well as respect for the environment, must take precedence over any other artistic consideration. By participating in the Contest, participants certify that the people and environments portrayed in the images have been treated with respect and dignity.

If artificial bait was used to attract wildlife, or special equipment was used to capture the photograph—camera traps, drones, etc.—this must be clearly stated. The use of live bait to capture images of wildlife is not permitted.
Respect for the dignity of people and the integrity of the environment is not only a condition for participation but an essential part of the meaning of this Contest.

How to Participate

Each participant may submit up to 5 photographs per category, never exceeding a total of 30 photographs.
Photographs must be submitted in .jpeg or .jpg format at 72 dpi, edited for the web in sRGB color space, with a minimum of 2,000 pixels on the longest side and a file size no larger than 5 MB.

For each photo submitted, the corresponding form must be completed, available for download on our website: cenie.eu
For any inquiries regarding the Contest, please write to: concurso.fotografia@cenie.eu

Photographs submitted by mail will not be accepted.

Only one contestant per email address will be accepted.

High-quality scans of non-digital photographs are acceptable.

Digital photographs must be taken at the highest possible resolution.

Finalists may be asked to submit an original, unedited digital file, or an original negative, print, or slide.

Original negatives, prints, or slides will only be returned to finalists.

FGUSAL reserves the right to disqualify contestants who cannot provide, upon request, a high-resolution photograph of at least 300 dpi and 2,000 pixels on the longest side, or an original negative, print, or slide of the photo. Mobile photographs are exempt from this size requirement but must be submitted at the highest available resolution if requested by FGUSAL.

Submitted photographs may include metadata, which may be collected by FGUSAL for technical or documentary verification purposes.

Copyright

By participating in the Contest, each participant:

Guarantees to be the sole holder of all rights to the photograph submitted to the contest and confirms having authorization and therefore assumes responsibility for the use and dissemination of images in which recognizable persons appear or works by others protected by copyright.

Accepts that the photographs submitted may be used in exhibitions, showcases, or a possible visual edition of a catalog derived from this Contest.

Accepts that, by participating in the Contest, they grant FGUSAL or CENIE (and those authorized by FGUSAL or CENIE) a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works from the entries, in whole or in part, in any medium now known or later developed, for any purpose, including but not limited to, advertising and promotion of FGUSAL or CENIE, exhibition, and commercial products (this includes any sale of products using the photograph), including but not limited to publications by FGUSAL or CENIE. Whenever possible, the photograph will include the copyright of the photographer. Regarding these uses, FGUSAL or CENIE shall not be required to pay any additional compensation or seek further approval.

FGUSAL is not responsible for any illegal downloads of the photographic works exhibited on its website or that of CENIE.

Personal Data

Participation in the Contest requires the collection of your name and email address. By participating in this Contest, you agree to the use of your name and email address for future communications related to the Contest.

Registration Deadline

The Contest begins on June 1, 2025. All entries must be received, through the participation form available on the website cenie.eu, before 24:00h (UTC+01:00 – Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris time) on November 30, 2025.

Evaluation

Photographs will be evaluated based on their creativity, technical quality, originality, and ability to express, in a visually significant way, the spirit of the motto “Age does not define us. Our gaze does.”

FGUSAL will select 10 finalists for each category, one winner per category, and one Grand CENIE Prize winner from among the 60 finalists.

The 60 finalists will be duly notified of their status during the first quarter of 2026 and will be featured on our website.
The Grand Prize winner and the category winners will be announced online during the first quarter of 2026.

FGUSAL, through CENIE, will contact the finalists and winners using the contact information provided by each contestant in the registration form. FGUSAL may disqualify any contestant who does not respond to the notification within five business days of its issuance.

Prizes

Seven prizes will be awarded with the following amounts:

Grand CENIE Prize: €5,000

Prize for the Winners of Each Category: €1,250 for each of the six category winners.

Each participant may receive only one prize.

Regarding the monetary amounts of the aforementioned prizes, winners must sign a release and license, as well as a declaration of eligibility, and are responsible for paying any taxes that may arise from the receipt of the prize.

Online Use Characteristics

FGUSAL may select photos to be featured or displayed in a publicly accessible contest archive, both on its website and on the CENIE website. Such selections will be made at FGUSAL’s sole discretion.

Final Provisions

The organization will not respond to calls or letters regarding the results of the Contest. Participants must wait for the jury’s decision to be published. Only the winners will be notified of the results.

Each participant assumes the possible risk of loss or damage to the photographs or other materials during the shipping process.

All participants release FGUSAL, its officers, directors, employees, and collaborators (hereinafter, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against all claims of any nature arising from the participant’s participation in the Contest and the acceptance or use of a prize. The Indemnified Parties are not responsible for any costs, damages, injuries, or other claims incurred as a result of participation in the Contest or acceptance and use of a prize by the winner. The Indemnified Parties are not responsible for entries, photograph submissions to the Contest that are incomplete or misdirected, malfunctions or technical or network failures, or causes beyond their control. Participants are solely responsible for their entries. Participants may not submit materials that are politically partisan, contain advertising, nudity, personal attacks, or are otherwise abusive, threatening, illegal, harassing, discriminatory, defamatory, obscene, false, sexually explicit, or infringe on any third party’s rights.

Participants may not submit materials that introduce software viruses or other programs designed to damage software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment, that are unrelated to the Contest theme, or that infringe on third-party rights.

FGUSAL reserves the right to cancel the Contest or modify the rules at its discretion.

In the event of a dispute regarding the winners, FGUSAL reserves the right to award or not award the prizes.
FGUSAL reserves the right to disqualify any participant whose entry or conduct may inhibit others’ enjoyment, alter the competition, violate these rules or other applicable laws or regulations, infringe on the rights of third parties, or act in an unsportsmanlike or harmful manner.

The decisions of FGUSAL are final and binding.

Any omissions in these rules will be resolved by the organizing entity.

Long-Living New Societies is a project approved (0137_NSL_6_E) under the INTERREG VI-A Spain–Portugal Cooperation Program (POCTEP), 2021–2027, of the European Union.