Cultural Heritage 2024: Photo competition
The heritage railway Gamle Vossebanen. Photographer: Arnim Berhorst, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Which parts of our cultural heritage should we pay more attention to? During all of September, you can upload photos from Norway and Sápmi, and the photos can then be used on Wikipedia and elsewhere. Compete for prizes and recognition while helping to document our heritage!
Cultural heritage is a wide topic field, and images make a big difference to how well we can document and communicate it. Heritage sites are distinct visual elements, while living heritage can be less tangible. Cultural heritage is also singing, storytelling, crafts know-how, traditions and much more.
Wool embroidery on a bunad from West Telemark. Photographer: VALive. The watchman’s cabin at Sandå on Rallarvegen. Photographer: Tomas Wangen. The sail is raised on board Draken Harald Hårfagre. Photographer: Odd Roar Aalborg. All images: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Take part
You can submit photos taken at any point in time, but you have to upload them to Wikimedia Commons during September 2024. Please register a user account in order to upload images. The photos must have been taken by you, and you have to share them under a free license. The upload wizard will guide you through this.
You can enter images taken in Norway and Sápmi in two categories, and you can submit as many as you want.
1. Monuments
This category covers registered cultural heritage sites and cultural environments that have been given cultural heritage ID numbers (“kulturminne-ID”). Find photo opportunities at your location with the help of the map at Kulturminnesøk. Make a note of the cultural heritage ID – you will need it when you upload images to the competition.
- Buildings
- Industrial plants and infrastructure
- Vehicles and vessels
- Archeological heritage sites
- Heritage sites for social practices, rituals and festive events
- Cultural environments
- Other monuments or sites
Up to ten photos in category 1 will qualify for the international Wiki Loves Monuments finale.
2. Living heritage
Living heritage is traditional knowledge that is passed on between people. The knowledge is actively put to use and is transmitted through creative ways of expression.
- Traditional craftmanship
- Performing arts
- Knowledge concerning nature and the universe
- Social practices, rituals and festive events
- Oral traditions and expressions
- Traditional foods
Ten winning photos will be announced in each category, and the top three of each category will receive a prize. There will be a special prize for a motif from Nordland county. Bodø is a European Capital of Culture this year, and cultural heritage from Nordland ought to be documented better on Wikipedia. Irrespective of county, there will be a Facebook vote to select a winner of the people’s choice award. The winning photos will be announced on the 13th of November.
What determines a good image?
In this photo competition, three evaluation criteria have been defined:
- Technical quality
- Originality
- Potential usefulness on Wikipedia and in knowledge sharing elsewhere, meaning how well the photo illustrates the depicted cultural heritage.
Share your knowledge
Cultural Heritage 2024 is a joint effort to improve how cultural heritage is illustrated on Wikipedia, but the photos can also be used elsewhere. Wikimedia Norge is the organiser, and the competition is also part of Wiki Loves Monuments, which aims to document the world’s monuments. We collaborate with Kulturdirektoratet – Arts and Culture Norway to grow awareness and documentation of living heritage, and we encourage photographers to seek out motifs during the Cultural Heritage Days organised by the Norwegian Federation of Cultural Heritage Organisations. From 31 August to 8 September you can take part in events all over the country.
We are collaborating to improve how cultural heritage in Norway and Sápmi is documented in images. We hope to receive a wide range of submissions! Volunteers are ready to make use of the images on Wikipedia, and all of September they will be improving articles on Norwegian Bokmål, Nynorsk, Northern Sámi and Inari Sámi.
Previous competitions
Ever since the annual competition was started, close to 13 000 photos have been submitted from Norway and Sápmi and 3,3 million from the world in total. In 2023 three of the Norwegian photos were favoured by the jury as well as the general public:
Internationally, we did best with a beutiful image of Røros.
Now you can share your photos in an exciting competition and win nice prizes. Join the efforts to document our cultural heritage!
