HIPA: Water, Our Shared Stories

Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award

Water is experienced differently across people, communities and environments. Photography has the power to make these experiences visible - documenting challenges, celebrating solutions and connecting global conversations to real human stories. In collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) invites photographers from around the world to contribute to this wider conversation by showing how water shapes our world and the people who depend on it. Water shapes our lives, communities, economies, and ecosystems. This global photography competition invites photographers to submit a story of 5–10 photographs that explores the relationship between: Water & People Water & Communities Water & Planet Water & Innovation Water & Challenges