IFES is now accepting submissions for its 2009 photography contest. Deadline for entry is March 12, 2009 at 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

Three contest categories are drawn from subjects of special interest to IFES’ work strengthening democratic governance worldwide; two categories are open to the public and one category is exclusive to current IFES staff.

Public Category 1: Events, objects or activities representing democracy in action.
Public Category 2: People or places symbolizing democracy in public or private life.
IFES Category: Photographs representing the attitude and substance of IFES’ work.

Public category winners will receive $250 (USD) and the winner of IFES’ Choice award will receive a $250 gift card.

Entering the contest is a good way of gaining exposure for your art. The photos entered are often used in IFES corporate outreach materials, annual reports, and online news stories and publications—all of which are distributed to thousands in the democracy development community. Additionally, the images can be expanded to poster size, framed and displayed at internal exhibitions, events, and public spaces at IFES’ headquarters and in more than twenty field offices worldwide.

Additional details and samples of past submissions are available online at http://www.ifes.org/photocontest.html