A photo of a child standing on an abandoned rail track in northern Nigeria submitted to the contest by Deji
IBM opened its twelfth global lab, and first in Africa on November 8, at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. The lab brings together scientists and research engineers from some of the world’s best universities, most from the African diaspora. Together they will conduct applied and far-reaching exploratory research to help solve real world problems – in Africa, for Africa and, ultimately, for the world.
To celebrate the launch of the lab, IBM has partnered with A24Media, iHub and photographer Mutua Matheka and launched a project called ‘The World is Our Lab’. A project which invites people of all abilities to capture visual stories of various aspects of life in Africa through the lens of a camera.
Participant’s could win a chance to visit IBM’s new research lab in Nairobi, laptops with photo editing software, a photography workshop with a leading African photographer and a trip to Hemingways Watamu Hotel on the Kenyan coast. This is regardless of whether their image is captured on a camera phone or a professional camera.
The competition has two submission tiers:
a) Main competition for amateur, semiprofessional and professional photographers – They have to register on the photo competition website and submit their photos, which must adhere to certain specifications.
b) Social media competition – Users will be assigned a different task every two weeks to highlight different things in their part of Africa under the hashtag #IBMResearchAfrica. Every week, Mutua Matheka will highlight some of the best photos that have been submitted for the task.
The Lab’ competition will run till January 31st 2014s, with winners being announced in February 2014. Entries are invited from all over Africa, and will fall into three main categories:
1. African Grand Challenges – What are the grand challenges that need to be addressed for Africa to realize its potential? Traffic? Accountability for our leaders? Security? Capture and share images that show your countries’ challenges and opportunities for improvement.
2. African City Systems – What systems do African cities depend on? Infrastructure like roads, buildings and bridges? The systems we use to live and communicate – such as telephones, internet and social media? Capture and share images that define how a city lives & breathes.
3. African Innovation – Every day people on this continent are finding an easier way to do something. What are the solutions that people are putting in place across Africa to overcome the challenges of daily life and create new opportunities? The creative ways individuals or communities live, communicate and trade such as mobile money transfer systems? Capture and share images that define our innovative & creative spirit.
The panel of judges will include Mutua Matheka, Erik Hersman from iHub, Salim Amin from A24 Media and Uyi Stewart. Chief Scientist, IBM Research – Africa.
To enter, participants should capture original images that best define each category and upload them to the official competition website: www.theworldisourlabafrica.com