Young photographers around the world are invited to take part in the 2011 National Geographic International Photography Contest for Kids. The competition is conducted in partnership with the U.S. edition of National Geographic Kids magazine (also available in Canada) and nine local-language editions of the magazine in Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Lithuania, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The overall international grand-prize winner will receive a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., while the U.S./Canada grand-prize winner will receive a trip to Costa Rica.

U.S. and Canadian contestants ages 6-14 may enter now through Oct. 31, 2011, by submitting one photo in any or all of four categories: People, Animals, Scenery and Humor. Photos can be black-and-white or color, and shot with a digital camera or with conventional film. Entries can be submitted online at http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/activities/contests/kids-photo-contest/ or via regular mail. Entry forms and official contest rules are found at http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/contests/photo-contest-rules. Void where prohibited.

“National Geographic’s International Photography Contest for Kids encourages budding photographers from around the globe to capture their world and share it with others in a creative way” said Melina Bellows, International Photography Contest judge and executive vice president and chief creative officer for Books, Kids and Family at the National Geographic Society. “Kids have such a fun, unique point of view, and we hope this contest inspires future National Geographic photographers”

One grand-prize winner from the U.S./Canada regional contest will be selected from the four first-place category winners to receive a nine-day, eight-night trip for a family of four to Costa Rica, courtesy of The Adventure Company and the Adventure Center. The four first-place category winners in the U.S./Canada region will win digital camera kits, a selection of National Geographic books and will be entered into the global National Geographic International Photography Contest for Kids for a chance to win the International Grand Prize: a five-day, four-night trip to Washington, D.C., featuring a special tour of National Geographic headquarters.

Each participating international local-language edition will submit its winning entries in each category to National Geographic headquarters to be judged alongside the winning U.S./Canada entries by a panel of three National Geographic experts: Melina Bellows; Annie Griffiths, National Geographic photographer; and Jay Sumner, National Geographic Children’s Publishing photo director.

The judges will announce the overall grand-prize winner of a trip to National Geographic headquarters in January 2012. Winning entries from each country will be featured in that country’s edition of National Geographic Kids magazine.

National Geographic Kids, geared toward children ages 6-14, is an interactive, multitopic magazine covering animals, entertainment, science, technology, cultures and current events. The magazine has 19 international editions, including the U.S. edition that is also available in Canada.

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