Professional and amateur photographers across Ibero-America can enter the region’s most famous photography contest, showing the real face of health in 2020

• The contest will be open from 30 November 2020 to 2 January 2021.

The tenth edition of Picture of the Year Latam (POY Latam), Ibero-America’s most prestigious photography contest, will run from 30 November 2020 to 2 January 2021, framed by a year that has brought countless challenges to the region following the public health crisis. Undoubtedly, one of the most important lessons of 2020 is that global health must be a priority for society. That is why, for the first time, the contest will include special health categories and broaden its target audience to amateur and independent photographers, with the aim of gathering images that reflect diverse perspectives and prompt deep reflection on the challenges and lessons of the new normal.

“Our mission at POY Latam is to connect and build communities through contests, exhibitions, publications and educational opportunities with which we celebrate the excellence of documentary and artistic photography in our region,” explains Pablo Corral, photojournalist, writer, artist, cultural manager and leader of POY Latam. “This year there will be a big difference from previous editions of our contest: as well as amateurs taking part for the first time, health will be one of the main focuses. We understand that the current context has put many issues on hold, but health is not one of them. That is why we decided to join forces with Janssen, a company recognised for its track record and leadership in the world of health,” adds Corral.

In line with this, the POY Latam 2021 contest will be held in partnership with Janssen, the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, which leads the #HealthWithoutPause campaign, seeking to raise the profile of and support patients in Latin America with diseases other than COVID-19 who, because of the pandemic, have put their diagnoses, medical appointments, check-ups and treatments on hold. “During this health emergency the world has paused many activities, but we must remember that there are millions of patients who cannot put their health on hold. The consequences of not getting treatment or seeing their doctor in time have serious short- and long-term repercussions for them and for health systems,” says Diana Panqueva, regional communications and public affairs leader at Janssen Latin America.

For this reason, in partnership with Janssen, four special health categories have been included for professional photographers and three for amateurs, who can enter the contest by posting their work on Instagram. The categories are “patients”, “caregivers”, “mental health” and a final one called “facing the pandemic”. These categories aim to show realistically the challenges faced by millions of patients, the admirable work of doctors and caregivers, the importance of continuing to address other diseases and the need to protect mental health in these times of pandemic.

“We created this partnership with POY LATAM because we trust and admire the work they have done in the region over the last decade, and we are sure their platform will allow us to show the world the reality of health through art, in this case, photography,” says Diana Panqueva.

For POY Latam, it is essential to have a jury with great expertise who are also recognised across the Americas. For its 2021 edition, judges on the panel will include Gael Almeida, regional director for Latin America at National Geographic; Gisela Volá, photographer, teacher, curator and co-founder of Sub, a photography cooperative founded in 2004; Daniel Rodrigues, Portuguese photographer and former World Press Photo winner; and Magdalena Herrera, director of photography at GEO FRANCE.

In addition to the special categories, the contest will keep its traditional categories. Photographs will be judged virtually from 14 to 17 January, video and web from 21 to 24 January, and the final rounds will be streamed live.

“We invite all photographers, amateur or professional, to take part in this edition, which will undoubtedly be remembered by many and leave a very important mark on the history of our contest,” concludes Corral.

For more details about the contest, visit 2021 POY Latam or Health Without Pause

About Johnson & Johnson

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress. That’s why for more than 130 years, we have aimed to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. Today, as the world’s largest and most broadly based healthcare company, we are committed to using our reach and size for good. We strive to improve access and affordability, create healthier communities, and put a healthy mind, body and environment within reach of everyone, everywhere. We are blending our heart, science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity. Follow us at @JNJNews.

About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

At Janssen, we’re creating a future where disease is a thing of the past. We’re the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Immunology, Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, Neuroscience, Oncology and Pulmonary Hypertension. Follow us at @JanssenGlobal