The Stenin Contest’s international tour kicks off in Serbia

08 / 04 / 2026

Works by the winners of the 11th Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest have once again gone on display in Belgrade.

From April 7 to 17, 2026, the Parobrod Cultural Center is hosting an exhibition of more than fifty photographs by young photojournalists from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Russia, Spain, Thailand, and other countries as part of the Belgrade Photo Month festival program. The opening in the Serbian capital marks the start of the contest’s annual international exhibition tour featuring the prize-winning works. The exhibition explores a wide range of themes, including pressing social issues, environmental challenges, and the world’s cultural and natural diversity.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Sputnik Radio host Dragana Nikitović said:

“For more than a decade, the contest has supported young photographers worldwide at the start of their professional careers, upholding the highest standards in news photojournalism and discovering new talents in the field. We are very pleased to be holding this exhibition for the third time in partnership with the Belgrade Photo Month festival at the wonderful Parobrod Cultural Center, and we hope to see talented participants from Serbia among next year’s contestants.”

The 2026 exhibition tour will continue across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Festival Director David Pujado stressed:

“On a personal level, this edition is especially meaningful for me because I had the pleasure of being a Jury Member of the Contest. Being able to follow the entire process, to see all the applications, and to work hand in hand with the Stenin Contest team and the rest of the Jury has been a truly great experience. Visitors who come to see the exhibition in Belgrade, or in any other place on our planet where the exhibition will be shown, will discover a selection of fantastic works. There is a great diversity, from the “My Planet” series to “Top Views”, with images full of color and incredible compositions; from “Portrait of a Hero of Our Time”, where we discover not only great photographers, but also great stories and human beings who have done something very relevant for our society, to the simple but beautiful shots from the “Sport” category and, of course, if we are talking about photojournalism, the “Top News” category”.

About the contest

The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest, organized by the Rossiya Segodnya media group under the auspices of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, aims to support young photographers and raise public awareness of the challenges facing contemporary photojournalism. It serves as a platform for talented, empathetic, and open-minded photographers whose work highlights the people and events shaping the world around us.