The Beekeeper - Winning photo by Christopher Azzopardi from Malta
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has just announced the winner of the photography competition focussing on safety and health at work: Christopher Azzopardi from Malta was awarded with the 1st prize for his photograph entitled, “Beekeeper”
The 2009 winner, Christopher Azzopardi, was enthusiastic about his success: “I am very honoured to receive the prize. The photo was the most challenging picture I have ever taken. I was wearing protective clothing when I took the photo of a beekeeper working in an apiary in Malta, but the bees still managed to sting me several times. Through this photo I wanted to show the importance of wearing protective clothing while working in a dangerous environment.”
The second and third prize were handed to Eric Despujols from France (“Welder”) and Rodrigo Cabrita from Portugal (“A hard and complicated life”).
The Europe-wide photo competition has captured the imagination of photography enthusiasts across the European Union, who submitted around 1,700 photos. With every new photograph an insight into the interpretations of safety and health among Europe’s citizens was gained. Jukka Takala, Director of EU-OSHA, emphasized the great success of the competition at the award ceremony in Bilbao: “The interest shown and creative talent on display has been very encouraging. I am very pleased to award the best and most original photos answering our question “What’s your image of safety and health at work?”. Humour, simplicity and innocence are often present, sometimes accompanied by a slight sense of tension or even provocation, as if to remind us of the everyday importance of healthier and safer workplaces.”
The photo competition was organised in the framework of the Agency’s Healthy Workplaces campaign on risk assessment. All photographers – professionals or amateurs – were invited to join the competition and submit their photographs between May 9th and August 15th 2009. An acclaimed international jury was in charge to select the best entries: Top photographers Mertxe Alarcón, Clemente Bernad, Miguel Ángel Gaüeca and Ambroise Tézenas were joined by Peter Rimmer, communication expert in occupational safety and health and formerly from the Health and Safety Executive UK.
For more information on the submitted photographs and the “What’s your image of safety and health at work?” competition, please visit www.osha-photocompetition.eu.
Press inquiries
Birgit Müller | International press | +34 94 479 35 52 | news@osha.europa.eu
Marta Urrutia | Spanish press | +34 94 479 57 46 | noticias@osha.europa.eu
Brenda O’Brien | Brussels Liaison Office | +32 2 401 68 59 | obrien@osha.europa.eu
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
