UPPA: Recognizing and supporting the individuals who record the visual history of Uganda.
22/09/2025
This year we're celebrating 14 years edition of the Uganda Press Photo Award, 10 years of the Young Photographer Award and 8 years edition of the East African Photography Award.
Entries came in from all over East Africa and as always we are delighted to share in so much talent from the region.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the overall winners on September 25th during the annual winners exhibition opening and award-giving event at .
27/08/2025
Check out the 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year finalists, with some stunning views above and below the ocean surface. 🌊📸
The finalist selections in this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year competition were just revealed by contest organizers at Oceanographic Magazine, and feature some of the best coastal, drone, and underwater photographs chosen from thousands of submissions.
23/08/2025
Wading Through Broken Systems
Honorable Mention | UPPA 2024
📸 David Lubowa
"A photographic series depicting Kampala's long-standing struggle with flooding. When it rains, roads become impassable, posing serious risks to pedestrians and motorists, including flash floods, open manholes, and property damage. Despite efforts like the Kampala Drainage Master Plan(KDMP) of 2003 and 2016, inadequate drainage systems, potholes, and wetland destruction have worsened the problem, spreading even to upscale areas. This photo series, taken on 7th Street in the Industrial Area, underscores the urgent need for lasting solutions to this persistent challenge."
This series captures the vibrant community stories witnessed as Wanyama covers the entire districts of Karamoja sub region and beyond. The images reveal the unique traditions, struggles, and everyday moments that shape life in the region.
As we gear up for this year’s shortlist reveal, here's a look back at last year’s winning visual narratives.
LOST
1st Place, Uganda Press Photo Award 2024
📸By Hajarah Nalwadda
"On June 17, 2023, The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels attacked Mpondwe – Lhubiriha Senior Secondary School in Nyabugando, Kasese district. The attackers killed 38 learners and five community members. The ADF rebels also abducted 11 other learners and injured several residents. The incident led to the arrest of over 20 people including the school’s director; the then the inspector of schools and Kasese district education officer.
The ADF has been accused of launching many attacks in recent years targeting civilians in remote parts of eastern Congo, including one in March 2023 in which 19 people were killed. But attacks on the Ugandan side of the border are rare, because of the presence of an alpine brigade of Ugandan troops in the region. Uganda forces have been deployed to eastern Congo since 2021 under a military operation to hunt ADF militants down and stop them from attacking civilians across the border."
After plenty of passionate debates and a few tough calls, our amazing panel of judges has officially wrapped up the judging process for this year’s East African Photography Award, Uganda Press Photo Award and Young Photographer Award.
There is so much incredible talent in the region and we got to see many interesting entries.
We're grateful to our judges as they brought some serious dedication to the task. THANK YOU!!
Keep an eye out for the shortlisted individuals. But for now, enjoy some peeks behind the scenes of the judging sessions!
31/07/2025
📸 We're proud to introduce the individuals serving as the 2025 East African Photography Award judges; including photojournalists, editors, and visual storytellers. United by a shared passion for storytelling, this jury is committed to recognizing powerful and authentic narratives.
🌍 2025 EAPA Judges
🔹 is an AP photojournalist with over 20 years of experience documenting the human condition across Africa, Europe, and Asia. He was a 2024–25 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and mentors emerging journalists through initiatives with World Press Photo, the Norwegian Fredskorpset, and Pathshala Institute.
🔹 is part of a community of self taught photographers in East Africa. As a freelancer in the region, he has worked on editorial assignments focused on documenting contemporary stories around the continent for non profits and publications.
🔹 is Senior Photography Editor at the Open Society Foundations in New York. She is always looking for photographers who are dedicated to storytelling that explores racial, economic, gender, climate, and political justice issues around the world.
🔹 is a Senior Program Officer for Storytelling Grants at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., Sana manages grants that support global visual projects. A trained multimedia journalist, she has produced documentary work for Discovery, PBS, and the Smithsonian. Her ongoing series “Places You’ll Pray” captures Muslims practicing their faith in unexpected public spaces around the globe.
🔹 is AFP's Chief Photographer for East Africa and the Indian Ocean, based in Nairobi, Kenya. His work has been published broadly and has been awarded with several major awards such as World Press Photo, Sony World Photography Awards and several POYI -Pictures of the Year International.
Stay tuned for more. ✨
26/07/2025
👀 Who’s choosing the winning shots? Meet the 2025 UPPA jury! 🌟
From Addis Ababa to Khartoum to Kampala, this accomplished panel of judges will make selections for the 2025 Uganda Press Photo Award. Each brings a deep understanding of the trade, years of field experience, and a strong commitment to authentic visual storytelling.
📸 is a self‑taught documentary artist based in Addis Ababa, Maheder’s work bridges archival research, personal memory, and conceptual photography. Winner of the Seydou Keïta Grand Prize and CAP Prize, she founded the Center for Photography in Ethiopia to mentor emerging talent and spark critical dialogue. Through her lens, Maheder explores themes of history, identity and communal issues drawing connections between past archives and imagined futures.
📸 is an independent documentary photographer based between Uganda and Kenya with 15 years of experience. He’s a photography mentor, judge and is part of an exciting crop of photographers based in Africa contributing towards changing the negative image of Africa through the Everyday Africa project.
📸 .kheir is a photographer based in Khartoum, Sudan. He is the co-founder of the Sudanese Photographers Group. Through photography, Kheir actively engages with the city of Khartoum, creating personal perspectives and narratives about his immediate space.
23/07/2025
🌟 Meet the 2025 Young Photographer Award Jury! 🌟
These three trailblazing Ugandan storytellers—each a past YPA recipient—bring fresh eyes and expertise from the worlds of photojournalism, documentary photography, and visual storytelling.
📸 Zahara Abdul is a Ugandan freelance documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Kampala Uganda. She uses her craft to mainly highlight pro-human development stories such as maternal health care. She is keen on covering stories where women and girls are portrayed beyond the limitations of stereotypes.
📸 Esther Ruth Mbabazi uses storytelling and photojournalism to explore changing conditions on the African continent, with a focus on the social, economic, physical, and emotional aspects of daily life. She is a National Geographic Explorer, Everyday Africa Contributor, and Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellow. Mbabazi was the inaugural winner of the Young Photographer Award, and her work has been published in the New York Times, National Geographic, Timemagazine, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, and has been commissioned by a variety of NGOs.
📸 Dennis Kimbugwe is a Ugandan artist working with photography. His creative practice seeks to explore the construction and performance of identity and the complexity of a minoritised existence.
.
07/07/2025
🚨 LAST CALL! 🚨
Today’s the last chance to submit your work for the Young Photographer Award 2025! 📸
Emerging Ugandan photographers(21–28), don’t miss this opportunity to share your vision & grow your craft.
Over the past two weeks, our 2025 photography mentees, as well as some students studying visual communications and media, had the chance to explore how archives can shape and deepen their research and creative practice. With ’s at the helm, the participants gained valuable insight into using archival materials as a research tool to inform their storytelling.
Together, they delved into rich collections at Makerere University Library’s African section, the National Library, and the National Records & Archives Centre, unearthing everything from early publications to historical photo collections that trace Uganda’s evolution—some dating back to the late 1800s, the most documented decisive period in the consolidation of what has become the Republic of Uganda we negotiate today.
It’s always inspiring to see a new cohort engage with these visual records, discovering the stories, contexts, and histories that continue to shape our present, as we maintain a contested bearing for the inevitable future.
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Uganda Press Photo Award posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The Uganda Press Photo Award (UPPA) was originally developed in 2012. It began as a competition for Ugandan photojournalists and photographers who strive to keep the public informed of the daily news, sometimes at great risk to themselves.
Over the years we’ve grown into a platform which not only promotes the best of today’s photojournalism and documentary photography in Uganda, but also supports a broad programme of visual literacy and visual education. We also seek to remind the viewing public of the importance of creativity, freedom of expression and vibrant press for democratic development.
The award soon became just one small part of a much larger organisation, and in 2016 we established the FOTEA Foundation to support the growing scale of the award and our other activities.
FOTEA aims to bring together photographers and other visual storytellers, to encourage and champion viewpoints that document and engage with social change in Uganda and East Africa.
Activities now under the purview of FOTEA include the Uganda Press Photo Award, The East African Photography Award, Young Photographer Award and the Emerging Photographer Mentorship Programme; workshops, photography talks and panel discussions, film screenings, portfolio reviews, and exhibitions.
