The InterDependent

As the final countdown – 2015 -- to achieving the Millennium Development Goals approaches, there are plenty of photographic images to capture the work that is being done all around the globe to meet the UN's targets. The United Nations Development Program’s second annual “Picture This” contest highlights the efforts to continue to motivate people and countries in the next five years.

"It is our hope that through showcasing these real and positive actions, more people will be motivated to contribute to this effort," Helen Clark, the Development Program's administrator, said at the announcement on Sept. 14 at the UN's headquarters in New York.

Larry Louie of Canada/UNDP

Boys at a Tanzanian school for the blind using Braille typewriters. The photo won a prize in the Development Program contest.

The winners of the contest, conducted in partnership with Olympus Corporation, the Agence France-Presse Foundation and the UN’s Department of Public Information – were split among three categories: amateur, professional and people’s choice. The people’s choice winner was chosen by visitors to the photo contest’s Web site. With the amateur and professional categories, each Millennium Goal features at least one winning photo; additionally, each category has an overall first-, second- and third- place winner. A total of 22 prizes and honorable mentions were awarded by a panel of jurors who included four photojournalists and a UN goodwill ambassador, the actor Antonio Banderas.

This year, the Development Program received more than 3,000 submissions from 1,400 contestants around the world. For more information, go to www.undp.org/picturethis2010.