Sustainability Photo Competition

Entries for the competition will open on 20 July 2026

Competition brief

For this year's competition, we will have three different categories as follows. Please let us know which category you are entering your photo in at the time of submission:

Sustainability in the city

Wellington is a hive of sustainability activity from activism to biodiversity. Submit photos that best capture sustainability in the city and speak to how Wellingtonians are contributing to a sustainable future.

Education in action

Across the University students are learning about sustainability in their courses and the wider student experience. Submit photos that showcase the engaging learning opportunities on offer at Te Herenga Waka that are shaping a better world.

Walking the talk

Our values of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga guide the University’s commitment to sustainability. Submit photos that capture how we are demonstrating those values in the day-to-day practices of the University.

Competition dates and how to enter

  1. Entries open on 20 July and close on 19 August 2026. The top 25 photos as selected by the judges will be displayed for a digital exhibition at Kelburn, Te Aro and Pipitea campuses from 7 September to 11 September, as part of the People's Choice award (by public voting). All results will be announced on 15 September.
  2. Email your image in high resolution mode, minimum 2MB, jpeg format as an attachment. Do not embed in Word or in the email, and do not provide a link to a website to be downloaded. The photos can be either landscape or portrait.
  3. Email your entries to: sustainability@vuw.ac.nz with 'Sustainability Photo Competition' in the subject line.
  4. Your image file must be named with your first and last name and student or staff ID number (e.g. joe_bloggs_1234578).
  5. Include the name, phone number, and email address of the person who took the photo.
  6. Give your image a title
  7. Let us know which of the three categories you are entering your photo under (see Competition brief above for the categories).
  8. Provide a brief caption that explains the connection between the photo and the category you have chosen to submit it under.
  9. Only one image per email entry. You can enter as many times as you like.

Judging

Entries will be shortlisted to the best 25 photographs.  Judges will consider communication of the competition brief, impact, creative direction, composition, and overall aesthetic appeal.

The best 25 photographs will be displayed in an e-exhibition at Kelburn, Pipitea and Te Aro campuses. The best 25 photos will also be posted on the Sustainability website. Students, staff, and visitors will be able to participate in the People’s Choice award by registering their favourite photo.

Formal judging will be conducted by a judging panel and the winner announced on the Sustainability website.

Judging panel

  • Associate Professor Meegan Hall, Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Mātauranga Māori, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Māori and Kaitiakitanga) team
  • Associate Professor Paul Wolffram, Film Programme, School of English, Film, Theatre, Media and Communication, and Art History
  • Nicholas Ahu Gartner (Ngāti Tūwharetoa), a multimedia artist and photographer, an alumus of Te Herenga Waka
  • Aisha Ajmal, a previous winner of the competition, and Tutor Coordinator at the School of Engineering and Computer Science

Prizes

An eGiftPay voucher worth 200 dollars each for the winner of each of the three categories.

People's Choice Award:  200 dollar eGiftPay voucher

Terms and conditions

By submitting a photograph you agree to the following terms and conditions:

  1. The competition is open to staff and students of Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington ("the University”).
  2. The competition runs in July and August of 2026.
  3. You are the only author of your work and you have taken the photograph yourself and that the photograph is your original work.
  4. You are the sole copyright holder for the photograph you have submitted.
  5. You agree to not seek compensation from the University for its use of your photograph.
  6. You agree that any images you submit may be used by the University for marketing and promotional purposes.
  7. You have unlimited non-exclusive rights to the work and these will not conflict with the usage rights required by the University.
  8. You agree not to submit any photographs that are pornographic, hateful, threatening, racist, sexist, discriminatory, or which otherwise violate any local or international laws.
  9. You agree to obtain prior consent from all recognisable individuals or a group in a private setting featured in your photograph before submitting a photograph.
  10. The winners will be announced on September 15 and notified via the email address provided at the time of submission as soon as practicable.
  11. The University accepts no responsibility for any entries that are not received, incomplete, illegible, corrupted or which fail to be submitted by the closing date and time. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt.
  12. Entries must comply with these terms and conditions and be received by the closing date and time. Failure to do so will disqualify the entry.
  13. The University reserves the right to verify the validity of entries, to disqualify any entrant or to cancel or amend the competition or these terms and conditions at any time for any reason, without prior notice.
  14. In the event of any dispute regarding these terms and conditions, conduct, results and all other matters relating to the survey (including the selection of the winner), the decision of the University is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.
  15. Failure to claim the prize within 14 days may result in disqualification and selection of an alternative winner.
  16. The University will not be liable for any loss, damage, costs (for instance incurred in accepting or redeeming a prize) or any injury whatsoever suffered by an entrant as a result of or in connection with the competition, including any inability to enter, complete or continue the competition due to equipment or technical malfunction.
  17. The Prizes are non-transferable and there is no cash alternative or any form of credit. The University reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time.
  18. You understand that the information you provide is being collected for the purposes described in, and will be used in accordance with, the University’s Privacy Notice (available at www.wgtn.ac.nz/privacy).
  19. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand and shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand Courts.

More information

For more information on the 2026 Sustainability Photo Competition, contact sustainability@vuw.ac.nz.