The 2025 UNICEF Annual Photography Awards have announced their winners, with works by two Iranian photographers receiving special recognition for their focus on children.
According to ISNA, the first prize went to Elise Blanchard, who documented the lives of girls and young women in Afghanistan. The second prize was awarded to Natalia Sapronova, who captured the effects of air pollution on children in Mongolia.
The third prize went to Sourav Das, who documented childhood in Jharia, home to one of India’s largest coal mines. Additionally, seven other photo series from Afghanistan, Iran, Gaza, South Africa, Ukraine, and the UK received special recognition.
Iranian photographers Hossein Bris, with his series “Return to Life”, and Araz Qaderi, with “What Children’s Faces Reveal” documenting Afghan children, were among those specially honored.
An exhibition of these works will be held until the end of January 2026 at the Federal Press House in Berlin, and then from January 30 to April 26, 2026 (10 Bahman 1404 – 6 Ordibehesht 1405) at the Willy Brandt House in Berlin.
