World Water Day Photo Contest 2025 winners announced

The next edition of the international World Water Day Photo Contest 2025 was decided in Milan, in the charming setting of Centrale dell’Acqua. This event, organized by Lions Club Seregno and Lions Acqua per la Vita MD108, once again combined art with an ecological message. This year’s theme – water conservation and glaciers – attracted a record number of participants from around the world.

Three categories, many stories

The contest was a real success: as many as 1,449 photos were submitted from 71 countries, from Myanmar to the United States. Each photograph told its own story – sometimes hopeful, sometimes poignant – but all emphasized how crucial it is to care for water resources.

Competition categories included:

• Water Conservation (main category)
• Photo Stories
• Water Landscapes

The winner in the main category was Aung Chan Thar from Myanmar for his photo Sustainability in Action. The photograph, showing young people from Myanmar in their daily water activities, impressed the judges not only with its aesthetics, but also with its message – even small steps can lead to big changes.

Other winners

Water Conservation

• 2nd Place: Waiting for my daughter – Michela Caserini (Italy).
• 3rd Place: Community fights – Yashovardhan Sodhani (India).

Photo Stories

• Winner: A question of balance – Elliot Ross (United States).
• 2nd Place: Who preserves us from the water? – Max Cavallari (Italy)
• 3rd Place (ex-aequo): Waterworld – Jacopo Maria Della Valle (Italy).
• 3rd Place (ex-aequo): My hidden fears – Nadeem Qaiser (Italy).

Water Landscapes

• Winner: Fresh Water Veins – Martin Broen (United States).
• 2nd Place: Marosi | The Man of the Lampara – LP CC (Italy).
• 3rd Place (ex-aequo): Swimming competition – Hüseyin Karahan (Turkey).
• 3rd Place (ex-aequo): Dual Realities! – Shyjith Onden Cheriyath (UAE)

Youth Category

• Winner (ex-aequo): Struggle for water: Life in Dhalchar – Bangladesh.

Lions/Leo Club Member Category

• Winner (ex-aequo): The Silent Witness – Marino Sartori (LC Isola d’Elba, Italy)

• Winner (ex-aequo): Nomad at the Well – Anna Bertocchi (LC Saronno Insubria, Italy)

The full list of winners and coverage of the gala can be found on the competition’s official website.

The best photographs, selected by a prestigious international jury, will become part of the traveling exhibition World Water Day Photo Contest 2025, which will visit various cities in Italy and abroad. Dates for the exhibition tour will also be announced soon on the contest’s official website.

Art in the service of others

As every year, the competition has not only an artistic, but also a humanitarian dimension. All proceeds from this edition will benefit the Koinonia – We Belong to One Another project in Zambia. This initiative supports local communities, helping them build a sustainable future and develop in harmony with nature. As a result, the photographs awarded in Milan will contribute to real change in the world.

pic. main: Sustainability in Action, Aung Chan Thar

source: press release World Water Day Photo Contest