Gold medalists of the 13th International Photo Contest 2025 (VN-25). — Photo courtesy of the event organisers

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA) held a ceremony in Hà Nội on December 5 to honour winners of the 13th International Photo Contest in Việt Nam 2025 (VN25) and open an exhibition showcasing its outstanding works.

In her opening remarks, VAPA President Trần Thị Thu Đông stated that the event holds special significance as it takes place on the occasion of the 60th founding anniversary of the VAPA.

The organisers received 13,236 works from 1,054 photographers representing 31 countries and territories. In addition to the prestigious awards presented by the VAPA, this year’s contest was sponsored by the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), which grants Medals and Honourable Mentions (HM) for the four sections: Open Colour, Open Monochrome, World in Focus, and Portrait.

The organisers also invited four independent judging panels made up of credentialed and experienced photographers from Việt Nam, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Spain, and Indonesia. The entire evaluation process was conducted on a specialised online platform, ensuring absolute objectivity and independence among the judges.

The panels finally chose 664 outstanding works by 383 photographers from 22 countries for exhibition. The organisers also awarded 47 prestigious prizes from both the VAPA and FIAP systems to authors from nine countries and territories: Croatia, Taiwan (China), Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, and Việt Nam.

A standout at this year’s contest was Marcel Van Balken (the Netherlands), who received the FIAP Blue Ribbon, which is awarded to the participant with the most prizes, as he earned 10 winning and exhibited works, including one gold, one silver, one bronze, one HM, and six exhibited works.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese photographers won 34 out of the 47 total awards, which, Đông assessed, is a marked achievement reflecting the passion and strong presence of Việt Nam's photography community.

The exhibition, which will remain open to the public until the end of December 9 at the Việt Nam Museum of Ethnology, showcases 250 outstanding works, including 47 award-winning pieces, featuring diverse creative styles and unique perspectives from photographers of 38 countries and territories. — VNA/VNS