Framing health stories: Highlights 2020 photography competition open for submissions
Authors: Joanna Palmer
Journal: The Lancet (2020)

The video and pictures of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, USA, as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck while he pleaded that he could not breathe, as well as photographs of subsequent anti-racism protests around the world, are some of the most powerful images this year. These pictures highlight the devastating impacts of structural racism and the deep inequities in our societies, and have given renewed urgency to the Black Lives Matter movement. This year has also brought moving and sometimes shocking photographs of health-care staff working in challenging conditions—too often with inadequate personal protective equipment—in hospitals worldwide as they respond to COVID-19. And there have been photographs documenting lives lived under lockdown—increased poverty and hunger among marginalised populations, socially distanced spaces, separation from the people we love, and harmful or protective domestic spaces. Pictures of masked faces are now familiar. Photographs have a unique power to illuminate our world. The Lancet's annual photography competition Highlights 2020 is now open for submissions. We are interested in compelling, thought-provoking photographs that frame the important health stories of our times. Last year we published 18 winning photographs on topics that ranged from gender-based violence, newborn care, the needs of refugee populations, to stories of individual patients and empowerment. We hope your entries for Highlights 2020 will frame similarly diverse health stories from different countries. Highlights submissions can be on any health-related topic—from global health to clinical medicine, from community to health-care settings, from urban streets to remote rural locations, from individual patients to populations, from child health to elder care. Photographs for Highlights 2020 should be submitted through The Lancet's online submission system, together with 300 words of accompanying text that put the image in context. You need to select Lancet Highlights as the article type when you submit. Highlights 2020 submissions should not have been previously published in print or online. If a person or patient is featured, then you must obtain and keep the written consent from the individual or, where this is not an option, their next of kin. You will need to complete the patient consent section of the author statement form while retaining the signed consent form. If a digital camera is used, please set it to the highest possible quality setting and submit images as JPEG files. The entries will be judged by Lancet editors and there will be a £300 prize for winning entries. The deadline for entries is Nov 16, 2020. We look forward to seeing how you highlight health stories. I declare no competing interests. Highlights 2019: fresh focus on healthEarlier this year we asked you to send us photographs that illuminate a health story for The Lancet's annual photography competition, Highlights. We thank everyone who entered the competition. The diverse pictures you submitted were compelling. In this issue, we publish the 18 winning photographs. These captivating pictures bring fresh perspectives to health stories from different countries, including Africa, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, and the USA. Some of the images highlight causes of concern, ranging from gender-based violence, global inequalities, to the needs of refugee populations. Full-Text PDF