THE United States Embassy in Kingston has launched a photography competition that challenges students from 25 high schools across the island to capture images that depict the country’s 50 years of democracy.

The contest, titled 50 years of Democracy in Focus, encourages students to work with their peers and teachers to capture the images, the best one of which should be submitted by May 17 to an electronic inbox provided by the embassy. The photograph should not be digitally enhanced.

All entries will then be uploaded onto the embassy’s Facebook page, where fans will vote on the best photographs. The winning entry, however, will be selected on May 30 by a panel of judges that include professional photographers, representatives from the Government and the Embassy.

The winning school will get a high-tech photocopy machine and a digital camera, as well as a desktop computer with full publishing software, while the second and third place winners will both receive professional digital cameras.

At last Friday’s launch at the US Embassy on Old Hope in St Andrew, Deputy Chief of Mission Isiah Parnell said that the US was excited about Jamaica’s celebration of its 50th year of Independence.

The competition, he said, is being used by the embassy to share in the celebrations as well as to help students learn about themselves, their country, and the wider world.

“The ambassador (Pamela Bridgewater) is pleased to be the president’s representative to your country when Jamaica celebrates 50 [years of] Independence, because we think it is a big deal for Jamaica and we think it is a big deal for the friends of Jamaica, and the US certainly considers itself to be a friend of Jamaica,” Parnell said.

Added to that, he said the competition provides students with the “perfect opportunity to look at Jamaica’s Independence in the context of all countries that are independent; to look at Jamaica’s Independence in the context of Caribbean countries that have gained their independence, and look at Jamaica’s Independence in your own small context, in your own school.”

“We firmly believe that picture tells a thousand words as we celebrate Jamaica’s 50th [year of] Independence,” Parnell said, while encouraging students to take “meaningful” photographs.

Each school in the competition on Friday received a digital camera, a pack of photo-printing paper and a printer.

Yolonda Kerney, public affairs officer at the embassy, said that she is hoping that the wining photograph will be used in the US Embassy’s July 4 celebrations and by the Jamaican Government in its celebrations.