The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland’s popular Christmas competition is back and older photographers are being encouraged to submit their entries for this year’s theme of ‘Hope’.
The Commissioner for Older People, Eddie Lynch said:
“The past 20 months have been incredibly difficult, not just the challenges of COVID but the recent significant rises in energy prices has been another worrying development for many older people across Northern Ireland. We’ve been running the Christmas photography competition for many years now and my staff and I love to see the entries come through every year. I hope it spreads as much joy to those who partake as it does to us who have the pleasure of reviewing the entries.
“This year’s theme is ‘hope’ as I want to remind everyone that in spite of the difficulties we have faced, hope endures and that whilst we are by no means past the challenges of COVID, we are in a much better place than we were last year, thanks to the vaccination programme and current booster programme that is being rolled out. The effectiveness of the vaccine to reduce the spread and seriousness of infection, has brought a lot of hope to everyone but particularly many older people who are at a greater risk of serious illness. Fortunately, we are now able to be safely reunited with our loved ones, a position we weren’t in last year.
“I want older people to capture their interpretation of ‘hope’ in the midst of difficult times. The photo entry could be one which was taken during a period of lockdown or shielding or when they reunited with their loved ones. Or it could be a current picture, perhaps a candid capture of nature which provokes feelings of hope. I will leave the interpretation up to each individual and look forward to reviewing the unique and individual entries.
The winning photograph will be featured on COPNI’s Christmas ezine and the winner will receive a £100 voucher of their choice.
Entrants must be 60+ and are allowed to submit two photos per person. Both digital and hard copy entries are accepted however digital is recommended due to quality and because COPNI staff are still currently working from home. You can enter by emailing your photograph to communications@copni.org, sending it via COPNI’s Facebook page or posting it to The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, Equality House, 7-9 Shaftesbury Square, BT2 7DP. The competition will close 12 noon, Friday 10 December so get snapping!
