Water isn’t just something we drink. It’s something we become. That truth hits hard in the newly announced winners of the Global Walk of Water Photography Contest, organized by UNESCO and Onewater—a visual deep dive into how water shapes life, identity, and survival across the planet.
Pulling from nearly 1,000 photo stories submitted from 114 countries, the contest reads like a global diary. Spiritual rituals. Gendered labor. Vanishing lakes. Ancient professions clinging to relevance. Every frame proves one thing: water is personal.
This year’s “Identities” theme acts as a visual warm-up for UN World Water Day 2026, which will spotlight Water and Gender. And yeah, the timing couldn’t be sharper.
First prize went to German photographer Kristina Steiner, whose haunting story documents Belgium’s last remaining horse shrimpers—an old-school tradition barely hanging on. The Youth Award landed with Gastón Zilberman, capturing the Qotzuñi people as Bolivia’s second-largest lake fades into memory.
Regional standouts include Giacomo d’Orlando, spotlighting the Agta people’s fight to protect the last Philippine crocodiles, and Abyan Madani, whose work honors Jakarta’s “Blue Troops”—the frontline workers keeping flood-prone neighborhoods alive.
With over €10,000 in prizes and backing from partners like the Asian Development Bank, WEX, Calumet, IW:Learn, and WasserStiftung, the contest isn’t just about awards. It’s about visibility. The selected stories will also open the curtain at the UN World Water Day 2026 events—putting real human faces to a global crisis we can’t afford to ignore.
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#1. Global Prize – 1st Place: "Man, horse and shrimp" by Kristina Steiner
"The world’s last horseback shrimp fishers maintain their centuries-old tradition amidst modern economic pressures and a changing ocean environment."
#2. Global Prize – 2nd Place: "Between dust and deluge: The women on Brazil’s water frontlines" by Ricardo Funari
"In the drought-stricken backlands of the sertão and the flooded river communities of the Amazon, women lead their households and communities through survival and recovery. They stand at the frontline of these climate extremes—when water comes too quickly, and when it doesn’t come at all."
#3. Global Prize – 3rd Place: "Cuore Labronico: The living legacy of Livorno’s rowers" by Michele Martinelli
"Livorno’s rowing culture evolved from a dangerous maritime livelihood into a fierce modern sporting tradition that preserves the city’s unique cultural identity."
#4. South East Asia Region – 1st Place: "Crocodile guardians: Redefining the Buwaya" by Giacomo d’Orlando
"In the Northern Sierra Madre, community guardians are transforming the Philippine crocodile from a symbol of fear into a source of pride, securing the critically endangered species’ survival through local sanctuaries and education."
#5. South East Asia Region – 2nd Place: "Decades deep: A reunion of artistic swimmers" by Aude Guerrucci
"In Singapore, the World Aquatics Masters Championships become a global reunion where former Olympians and lifelong swimmers unite through a shared language of water. Each routine reflects a unique cultural heritage, weaving a living tradition that turns the pool into a community and home."
#6. South East Asia Region – 3rd Place: "Stateless waters" by Zon Hisham
"In the Celebes Sea, the stateless Bajau Laut live on the water. Over the centuries, they have learned to navigate a world of stilt houses and houseboats, surviving in the fluid space between modern borders and the deep sea."
#7. Youth Prize South East Asia Region – 1st Place: "Pasukan Biru: The blue heroes of Jakarta’s rainbow troops" by Abyan Madani
"This photostory reveals how Jakarta’s flood resilience depends not only on monumental engineering projects but on the often-invisible labour of the Pasukan Biru, frontline workers who keep the city’s water systems functioning each day."
#8. Youth Prize South East Asia Region – 2nd Place: "Faith, blood, and the fading tides of Lamalera" by Tianxiao Wang
"On Indonesia’s remote cliffs, Lamalera sustains a 500-year-old whaling tradition entwined with Catholic faith and daily survival. Ecological decline in the Savu Sea and the pull of modern life now threaten its future."
#9. Youth Prize South East Asia Region – 3rd Place: "Séo Mý Tỷ: A Landscape in Transition" by Trần Quỳnh Nhi
"A hydropower dam transformed a remote H’Mông mountain valley into one of Vietnam’s highest artificial lakes, triggering rapid shifts in livelihood, identity, and ecology whose consequences now flow downstream in the water that binds a community to its changing landscape."
#10. Youth Prize Sub-Saharan Africa – 1st Place: "Currents of life: Water, culture, and identity in Nigeria" by Abdulrahman Abubakar
"From the arid Sahel to the Atlantic mangroves, "Currents of Life" captures Nigeria’s diverse water cultures. The story reveals the struggle for survival in Katsina, Rivers, and Kaduna, where traditional livelihoods—like calabash fishing—face modern environmental threats."
#11. Youth Prize Sub-Saharan Africa – 2nd Place: "The women of Carama: Rebuilding in the floodwaters" by Herve Shabani
"When the Gikoma river overflows, the floods damage homes, displace families, and sometimes claim lives. Despite the harsh realities, the women of Carama remain grounded. They carry water, rebuild homes, and raise their families amidst destruction without losing their identity, dignity, or strength."
#12. Youth Prize Sub-Saharan Africa – 3rd Place: "Osun-Osogobo: Where faith, tourism and conservation converge" by Jessica Dooter Thomas
"The Osun-Osogbo River Project is a visual documentary exploring the Osun River and the Sacred Grove that surrounds it. Located in Osobo, Osun State, the project seeks to capture the river not only as a physical body of water, but as a living symbol of identity, faith, and community."
#13. Youth Prize LAC Region – 1st Place: "Where the water lives" by João Alberes
"The life of José Firmino, a fisherman in Brazil’s semi-arid Northeast, navigating an artificial reservoir choked by invasive vegetation."
#14. Youth Prize LAC Region – 2nd Place: "Ninfas" by Delfina Narella Pignatiello
"Ninfas is an underwater photography project that explores the body in motion and reimagines lessons on untamed femininity. It challenges ideas that teach women to see one another as rivals, instead embracing the beauty of cultivating sisterhood, softness, and collective strength."
#15. Youth Global Prize – 1st Place: "Qotzuñi: People of the lake" by Gastón Zilberman
"Following the disappearance of Bolivia’s Lake Poopó, the indigenous Uru-Murato people navigate an existential crisis, fighting to preserve their identity as "People of the Lake" in a landscape now defined by salt and silence."
#16. Youth Global Prize – 2nd Place: "I’ve kept my books" by Shefali Rafiq
"In the drought-hit tribal belts of Maharashtra, a deepening water crisis is forcing adolescent girls to trade their education for the daily survival task of fetching water."
In Summary
What is the Global Walk of Water Photography Contest?
- A global photo competition highlighting the connection between water, human identity, and survival.
Who organizes the contest?
- Onewater in collaboration with UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme.
How many countries participated?
- Photographers from 114 countries submitted nearly 1,000 stories.
Who won the first prize?
- German photographer Kristina Steiner for documenting Belgium’s last horse shrimpers.
Why is this contest important?
- It visually supports the UN World Water Day 2026 theme: Water and Gender, raising awareness through real human stories.
