26 August 2015
The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) is pleased to announce the winners of its fifth annual photo contest, held earlier this year.
The 2015 contest included an innovative new category: “The World through Canadian Eyes” exclusively featuring black and white pictures – giving PAFSO amateur photographers an opportunity to showcase their skills while making a positive difference in the world. The other category “Foreign Service Officers: Canada’s Front Line Abroad” highlighted the hazards and challenges that Foreign Service Officers face while carrying out their work-related responsibilities, the value they bring to Canadians and the many achievement they reach. Kimberly Phillips’s “On the boat approaching our resort at Inle Lake, Burma” was the First Prize Winner in the first category. Her picture was taken during a trip to Southeast Asia she made with family. “Far away from the hustle and bustle, the ride on the Burmese-style gondola, skillfully rowed by a local Intha man, was both soothing and relaxing as the only sound was the gentle slap of the paddle against the water”, said Kimberly. Christine Leroy and Andrew Ng respectively won the Second and Third Prizes in this category.
The top prize ex-aequo photographs in the category “Foreign Service Officers: Canada’s Front Line Abroad”, were taken by Erin Koenig and depict young girls in Ethiopia. Erin took “Marriage interrupted” and “Water bearer” on a Canada Fund/CEFM project monitoring visit to northern Ethiopia earlier this year. “Taken together, these divergent images really convey the fragility of opportunity for young girls in Ethiopia, the importance of Canadian programming in this area and some of the most meaningful work that I do at post”, said Erin. Andrea Niklaus won the Third Prize in that category. Each winner will receive a gift certificate from Henry’s, a major Canadian photo equipment and electronics retailer ($150 for the first prize, $100 for the second prize and $50 for the third prize).
The judging committee of the PAFSO 2015 Photo Contest also awarded honourable mentions to the following photographers: Nicole Lunstead, Matt Friesen, Clarie Cholley, Erin Koenig and Shauna Parr.
Click here to view the winning photos and honourable mentions.
Again this year, images submitted in the contest will be used to create a desk calendar for PAFSO members. Some will also be featured in a future edition of bout de papier Magazine, Canada’s magazine of Diplomacy and Foreign Service.
Congratulations to all of our winners and recipients of honourable mentions!
The Executive Committee of PAFSO