Biometrics, Windmills, and VHS tapes: The Winners of 'Rest of World' International Tech Photo Contest

Since launching in 2020, the nonprofit site RestofWorld.org has been covering tech news from 100 countries. And they've just announced the winners in their 2024 international photography contest.

'From Cape Verde to Bhutan, we received 227 entries from over 45 countries around the world, featuring everything from sprawling mines to biometric facial scans.'

Like last year, the majority of the entries in our 2024 photography contest captured on-the-ground realities of how technology is transforming lives in every corner of the world. We received submissions from over 45 countries, showcasing a stunning variety of perspectives on the intersection of technology and daily life.

Beyond striking visuals, the photographs tell us stories of how tech plays a role in local communities, from iris-scanning payment systems inside refugee camps to EV battery-powered music gatherings. The 227 entries we received from contestants — including from Mongolia, the Philippines, Argentina, and Jordan — not only celebrate these stories but reaffirm our commitment at Rest of World to challenge stereotypes about how people use technology in their daily lives.

An 'honorable mention' photo shows immigrants from Africa arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa after a perilous boat journey. ('Upon their arrival, these refugees borrowed a smartphone from a bystander and started a video call to let their relatives know they survived the journey.') And the top photo shows a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent using a cellphone to collect facial scans from migrants entering the country from Mexico. ('After they make the crossing into the U.S., migrants are subjected to further data collection, including DNA samples.')

Biometric data collection was a recurring theme. A photo from Jordan shows a Syrian boy paying for groceries with an iris scanner at a supermarket 'run jointly by the World Food Programme and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.' Eye-scanning technology is being used there 'to ensure people use only their own credit and not borrowed or stolen cards. After having their iris scanned, Syrian refugees living in the camp can make use of services such as health care and shopping, using just their eyes.'

Another recurring theme was energy. There's a lovely 'honorable mention' photo from the Philippines showing two young people on a beach playing basketball 'under the towering blades of the windmills in Bangu... Renewable energy has transformed this community, cutting household expenses and powering opportunities once thought to be out of reach.' The third-place photo shows six children in a distant tent in 'a mountainous, subarctic forest' in Mongolia' — all gathered around a laptop 'to watch a documentary about a Norwegian reindeer herder' who had visited their region. ('Modern technology such as solar panels, car batteries, and the occasional Wi-Fi connection allows these families to stay connected with the world.') One photo shows a young boy carrying a solar panel down from the roof in a remote village in Jharkhand, India.

Another photo documents the largest salt flat in Argentina, part of the so-called 'lithium triangle' with parts of Chile and Bolivia. A salt miner says 'They started looking for lithium there in 2010. We made them stop; it was hurting the environment and affecting the water. But now they are back and I am afraid. Everything we have could be lost.'

And a photo from Nigeria shows two people wearing traditional African attire but adorned with 'goggles crafted from repurposed VHS tapes'. RestofWorld says the goggles 'represent how individuals and communities reclaim and reinterpret technology for art, commentary, and resilience. This practice reflects a community's ability to find new life in what others might discard, highlighting a deep relationship with both old and new technologies.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.