The JN Foundation is now accepting applications for its Motorcycle Helmet Safety Photo Competition, empowering young Jamaicans to promote helmet use through photography and visual arts.

Lead, Environment and Community Development, JN Foundation, Omar Wright, said the competition, builds on the original JN Resolution Project, retaining the core mission of that project to empower youth to use photography as a powerful medium for advocacy. It’s the second initiative by the Foundation to build on the Resolution Project, following last year’s Jamaica 60 Photo Advocacy Competition.

Winners of the Photo Advocacy and Visual Arts Competition will have the chance to win cash
prizes valued at $50,000 and $150,000.

“This year, participants will be tasked with capturing images that highlight the importance of helmet use on Jamaica’s roads, advocating for safer practices, and raising awareness about road safety,” he explained.
He said the inclusion of visual arts in this year’s competition will challenge younger participants to create artistic helmet designs. This component aims to engage children, who are among the most vulnerable road users, by encouraging creative expressions around safety.

The competition will focus on training and equipping students from secondary, tertiary, vocational and skills training institutions across the island with the technical skills to capture images that inspire safer road usage. Secondary school participants will be organised into teams, although their submissions will be judged. Participants enrolled in schools at the tertiary level or who are enrolled in vocational or other skills training institutions will participate as individuals. Workshops will provide students with training in photography techniques, advocacy, education on road safety, and their competition assignments.

All participants will be encouraged to submit their entries digitally. Mr Wright said the goal is to create a collection of 20 to 30 impactful images that can be used in exhibits, publications, and road safety campaigns.

Like the last initiative, a panel of assessors, including master photographer, Radcliffe ‘Ruddy’ Roye and Stuart Reeves and representatives from the National Helmet-Wearing Coalition (NHWC) and the JN Foundation, will evaluate the submissions. The top entries will be selected through a preliminary review process, with winners announced at a special awards ceremony in January 2025.

For the visual art component, students aged 8 to 12 will create designs for motorcycle helmets, with parents helping in the application process. However, the artwork must be entirely done by the child. A judging panel from the JN Foundation and NHWC will evaluate the designs, with winners recognized at an awards ceremony.

Through this initiative, Mr Wright informed that the JN Foundation Photo-Advocacy Project hopes to empower 50 to 100 advocates, equipped with knowledge about Jamaican road users and the actions needed to reduce crashes and fatalities.

“By targeting younger audiences and encouraging the use of visual media, the project seeks to fuel road safety awareness across the country, particularly among those aged 16-29, who represent a significant portion of Jamaica’s road users who are dying from motorcycle fatalities,” he explained.

Applications are open for Jamaican nationals in secondary, tertiary, vocational, and skills training institutions for the photo-advocacy component and primary/preparatory schools for the visual arts competition. Submit via jnfoundation.com. Deadlines: photo-advocacy by October 10, 2024, and visual arts by October 15, 2024.