SGR photo contest winners honored in Kenya

Councilor Yao Ming (right) presents an award to the first runner-up. [Photo by Pan Siwei/Xinhua]

The winners of the 2017 SGR photography competition were announced on Friday in Nairobi, Kenya.

The competition, co-sponsored by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Kenya's Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development and the Railway Authorities, aims to nurture creativity and use photography to tell stories.

It embodies the spirit of adventure, culture, discovery and exchange between Kenya and China in development partnership and aims to encourage people to look for unity in diversity and excellence in building the SGR project.

Starting March 1, the CRBC searched for Kenya's most talented photographers. The top 25 photographers were selected for a chance to compete for the top prize in the competition. The photographers traveled from Mombasa to Nairobi between March 20 and March 25 to track CRBC projects. Captivating pictures were taken to showcase the CRBC infrastructure footprint in Kenya and the impact of the projects' contributions to the target sites.

Awards were given for the Best Railway Bridge Photo, Best Locomotive Photo, Best Railway Constructor Photo, Best Railway Station Photo, Best CSR Photo, Best Aerial Photo, Best Environmental Conservation and The People’s Choice Award.

"One very important thing that we as an association always advocate for is that we are not just technical people behind cameras, but want to be storytellers, using our technical skill and using our knowledge to tell stories that will transform light to tell a successful story," Stephen Nderitu, chairman of the Photographer Association of Kenya, said at the award ceremony.

Yao Ming, councilor of the Embassy of China in Kenya, congratulated and recognized the efforts by the Kenyan side and the CRBC to successfully organize the event.

To make it convenient for applicants who wanted to participate, a website was set up and 50,000 visits were recorded. Almost 800 local photographers submitted applications.

In the end, the organizer selected 25 professional photographers who submitted nearly 300 photos that showcased the achievement of the SGR construction, vividly describing the wonderful vision and stories of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR Railway.