Capturing diversity: the third annual Intercultural Photo Contest

The Diversity Resource Center (DRC) has successfully completed this year’s Intercultural Photo Contest, with submitted photos encapsulating people’s own definition of culture.

There was a range of images, from food, to animals, to daily activities. Compared to last year, there were a lot more digital submissions; out of around 70 photos, only six were print submissions. Photos were displayed in the DRC for two weeks, most shown on a PowerPoint presentation, given there was so much digital content.

There were a total of three winners announced, as well as two honorable mentions, from participants who included MHCC staff and students. They met for a special reception on Dec. 1.

Miranda Helm submitted three photos in this year’s contest, one of which achieved an honorable mention. Titled “Masuwe Primary School, Zimbabwe,” the photo showcases two boys joyfully swinging midair on a swing set, with several others playing in the background.

I was eager to hear about the story and experiences Helm had during her stay in Africa. Helm explained that she went there to do volunteer work at an animal reserve for a month in the summer of 2015. She and others spent one day out of the week at an elementary school to help build a classroom. During that time the children were having recess and would usually help out building the new classroom.

“There would be these 6-year-old boys that would come out and help us with the building, and they were all stronger than me and they all knew how to use the tools better than I did!” she said. “It’s just more relevant to their culture to know how to use those things.” It seemed like a worthwhile experience, especially the fact that while she ate dinner at the reserve, wild animals would be going about their day in their natural habitat.

The determination of contest winners depended on the criticism of three judges, one being Melinda Bullen, DRC coordinator who looked at the perspective of student life and diversity and inclusion. There were two additional judges, one of them Eric Tschuy, who is the MHCC director for study abroad and speaks multiple languages and has lived in several places around the world. He judged photos from the perspective of what was the cultural story being told in each submitted photo, with the ones chosen telling a really important cultural story.

The third judge was David Strohl, who has been a part of this process since the contest started two years ago. The MHCC photography instructor looked at each photo from a technical perspective.

The three chose the winners of the contest as follows: First place: Laura Lyons, for “Fex, Morocco Tannery”; Second place: JiGuang Li, for “Boy in Ugandan Kids Choir, Portland, Oregon”; Third place: Seneca Lexow for “Tocoa, Honduras”. Honorable mentions went to Nicci Harwood, for “Wild Horses in Warm Springs, Oregon” and to Helm for the Zimbabwe photograph.

I was impressed with the diverse collection of photos. It is great to know there is so much culture here at campus, and to realize that culture is all around us.

(Note: the winning photos cannot be displayed on the internet, for licensing/permission reasons; officials hope or are hoping that may be possible in the future.)