1. Capture a photo that highlights life on mountain rangelands. For example:
   • pastoralists moving herds across mountain landscapes
   • yaks, llamas, alpacas, sheep or other animals adapted to mountain environments
   • seasonal migrations, transhumance and traditional grazing practices
   • Indigenous Peoples’ and local knowledge practices
   • women and youth shaping pastoralist livelihoods
   • natural fibres and food products
   • shearing and spinning wool, weaving textiles, felting, embroidery and knitting 
   • cooking, handling animals, feeding, milking and dairy production
2. Submit the online entry form, explaining what your photo portrays, where it is located, and why mountain rangelands are vital to sustaining life and our planet.
   
   
3. Share your photo on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Flickr, using the hashtag #MountainsMatter and don’t forget to tag @FAO and @UNMountains.

Deadline for entries: 10 August 2026

Disclaimer: participants under the age of 18 need the consent of their parent or legal custodian who must sign the Subject Release Form and email it to Info-IMD@fao.org. 

• Each participant can submit up to five photographs by filling in and submitting the online entry form. Each photo should be submitted separately by filling in the form.
• Participants must own the copyright and must have taken the photographs themselves. The photos must have been taken after 1 January 2021.
• Each submitted photograph must have a title and a short description/caption explaining what the photo represents, considering one or more of the aspects mentioned above, and where/when the photo was taken.
• Participants are invited to post their photos on social media accounts, using the hashtag #MountainsMatter.
• Photographs must be submitted in .jpeg format. Images should be of high quality (e.g. 300 dpi and 5000 pixels and a file size that does not exceed 2 MB). Both colour and/or black and white images will be acceptedThe material must not violate or infringe third parties’ rights including but not limited to trademark, privacy, publicity or other intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement.
• The submission must not contain dates, texts, brand names, logos or trademarks.
• FAO respects photographers’ rights and does not claim copyright over images submitted to this contest. The author retains full copyright for each entry. Whenever the image is published by FAO, the author will be credited.
• By participating in the contest, the contestant grants FAO permission to use the image in FAO material and on FAO digital channels, as further described in the Copyright and Privacy section below. FAO does NOT own the copyright, and authors are free to use the image for other purposes at their choosing.
• The top five photos will be posted by FAO corporate social media accounts. Any questions regarding the photo contest should be submitted to Info-IMD@fao.org.
• Participants may not submit any entries which include content generated by any generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, including but not limited to photorealistic imagery, graphics or other artistic media.  Participants are allowed to use AI technology for ideation or editing purposes. Whenever a participant uses AI technology for these or any other purposes, they shall disclose how such technology was specifically used. Should AI have been used in a way that is not compliant with these rules, FAO reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify the entry from the competition.

THE CONTEST

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 11 December “International Mountain Day” (IMD). 
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the coordinating agency for the preparation and animation of this celebration and host of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, is organizing a photo contest (“the Contest”) within the framework of IMD 2026.

Mountain pastoralists: Sustaining rangelands, knowledge and livelihoods is the theme of IMD 2026.
The photo contest aims to celebrate life in mountain rangelands and the role of mountain pastoralists who, through their knowledge, mobility and care, raise animals, produce food and fibre, and steward these vital ecosystems. Drawing on Indigenous Peoples’ and local knowledge developed over generations, their practices help regenerate vegetation, maintain healthy soils, water flows and biodiversity, while supporting rural mountain economies and contributing to food security. As a contribution to the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, IMD 2026 highlights the environmental, social and economic importance of mountain rangelands and calls for greater recognition of mountain pastoralists as custodians of ecosystems that sustain life from the highlands to the lowlands. 

Participants are asked to submit:
(i) a photo portraying life on mountain rangelands (i.e. pastoralists moving herds across mountain landscapes; yaks, llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats or other animals adapted to mountain environments; seasonal migrations, transhumance and traditional grazing practices; Indigenous Peoples’ and local knowledge linked to pastoralism; women and youth shaping pastoralist livelihoods; the beauty, challenges and resilience of mountain communities; examples of natural fibres and food products; or innovative solutions helping protect mountain rangelands and pastoral ways of life); 
(ii) the online entry form, explaining what your photo represents, where it is located, when it was taken, and why mountain rangelands and pastoral systems are vital to sustaining life and our planet. 

By submitting the online entry form for the IMD 2026 photo contest, all applicants acknowledge and agree to these Terms and Conditions, which are detailed below:  

GENERAL RULES
• The photo contest is open only to individuals (“Entrants”). The age to declare is that at the time of entering the photo contest. If the entrant is under the age of 18, the consent of their parent or legal guardian is required. The parent or legal guardian must sign the Subject Release Form and email it to Info-IMD@fao.org.  
• FAO employees and their immediate family members (spouses, parents, children, siblings and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter the contests. 
• FAO will determine eligibility at its sole discretion.
• Partners or relations of partner staff of the institutions involved in the launch of contests, and relations of the judging committee are not eligible to compete.
• FAO reserves the right to disqualify submissions which are not consistent with the Organization’s values and guiding principles.
• FAO also reserves the right to verify the eligibility of any entry and/or entrant (including an entrant’s identity and address) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these rules, the Contest Rules, including the photo criteria, AI related requirements, and Copyright and Privacy, or who tampers with the entry process.
• The entrant will indemnify and hold FAO harmless from and against any costs, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) from third party claims arising out of or relating to its participation in the contest or any violation of these Terms.
• FAO will not pay any fees for, nor pay any costs relating to, participation in any contest or for the use of any submissions in relation to the contest.
• No logos, URLs, telephone numbers, or calls that solicit directly monetary donations should be included in any submitted material.
• FAO will not be responsible, and cannot be held liable, for incomplete, lost, late, misdirected or illegible entries or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or for any human error, lost/delayed data transmission, or any other error or malfunction.
• By submitting entries to the contest, entrants agree that personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, shared, and otherwise used in accordance with FAO Data Protection Policy. The data will be used for the purposes and within the context of the contest, FAO institutional activities, and any other purposes outlined in these Rules. The data may also be used by FAO in order to verify the entrant's identity, address and telephone number or to otherwise verify the entrant's eligibility to participate in the contest.
• Nothing in these General Rules or in any rules for the contests, nor any acts performed or statements made in relation to the contests, shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of any of the privileges and immunities of FAO.

COPYRIGHT AND PRIVACY
• Entrants must own the copyright of the material they submit to the contest. 
• If the material contains images of a person or persons, entrants must have obtained the permission of those persons or their legal guardians for submission of their material to the contest as well as the use of the material by FAO for the purposes described in these General Rules. FAO will not be responsible for any claim or complaints alleging violation of personal data of third parties.
• The entrant declares that the material submitted does not infringe third-party rights. The entrant also confirms that each person depicted in the material has granted permission to be portrayed as shown.
• FAO will not seek additional approvals in connection with the use of the material and it will not be responsible for any claim or complaint alleging violation of the rights of third parties.
• Copyright of the material remains with the entrants. By entering the contest, entrants grant an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide exclusive license to FAO to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the contest and the promotion of FAO’s work, in, amongst others:
o FAO corporate website: www.fao.org;
o corporate videos or digital recordings to illustrate the work of FAO;
o printed FAO publications, brochures or posters.
o social media channels, including promotion of the contest itself;
o any other media used by FAO to communicate.
• Failure to publish a credit due to error or oversight shall not be deemed a breach of this condition.

ACCEPTANCE 

• By submitting entries to the Contest, the Entrant confirms that the Rules for this Contest, as set out above, have been read, understood and agreed to by the Entrant or their respective parent or legal guardian.
PRIZE
• The winner will receive an action camera.
• The winner will be notified by email after 10 December 2026. The winner will be announced on this website and through FAO and other social media channels.
• In the event that the selected winner of this prize (that is eligible in accordance with these Contest rules and/or the General Rules, Copyright and Privacy) cannot be traced, or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited and it will be in the sole discretion of FAO to choose whether to award the prize to another eligible entry.
• When the winning photo is published, only the first and family name will be published. No other personal information about the contestants will be published or shared.