Illuminating Shared Urban Futures: Announcing the Winners of the 2026 Penn IUR Global Photo Contest

This year’s Penn IUR Global Photo Contest, Sharing and Caring Cities: Portraits of Collective Urban Life, invited photographers from around the world to document how shared urban spaces foster resilience, dignity, collaboration, and hope. From flood-prone streets in Bangladesh to war-torn neighborhoods in Syria and informal settlements in the Philippines, submissions captured the profound ways people adapt, care for one another, and sustain community amid extraordinary challenges.

After reviewing entries from across the globe, the jury awarded the 2026 Grand Prize to Michelle Marie Ajoc for her photograph Light of Empowerment, taken in Marikina City, Philippines. Ajoc will receive $500 USD for her winning photograph.

Ajoc’s image depicts a mother helping her children with schoolwork beneath the glow of a homemade solar lamp created through the Liter of Light initiative by the My Shelter Foundation. Liter of Light is a grassroots solar lighting project born out of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines 2013, which destroyed millions of homes and left many without electricity. 

In the photograph, discarded plastic bottles, repurposed into solar lighting and eco-bricks, become instruments of both environmental sustainability and household resilience. Ajoc writes in her submission statement. “It is the power of knowledge, resilience, and sustainable living.” 

Set within a dense urban settlement where electricity is scarce and families often rely on costly kerosene, the image illustrates how grassroots innovation can transform everyday life. By reducing household energy costs, projects like Liter of Light allow families to redirect limited income toward food, education, and housing stability.

Juror Nikhil Anand, Interim Director Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) and Daniel Braun Silvers and Robert Peter Silvers Family Presidential Professor of Anthropology, praised the photograph for its intimate humanity and layered symbolism. Amy Hillier, Director of the Urban Studies Program andAssociate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice, selected Light of Empowerment among her top entries, noting: “This thrifty woman conveys warmth and hope, literally building a home for her children from discarded bottles while offering a critique of ubiquitous plastic.”

Two photographs received Honorable Mention recognition for their powerful depictions of collective care and perseverance in moments of crisis.

The first, Rescue Through Water by Muhammad Amdad Hossain, documents local residents in Feni, Bangladesh, carrying women and children through severe flooding. The photograph captures the immediacy of climate vulnerability while foregrounding mutual aid and neighborly solidarity under extreme conditions.

The second, Defying War with a Song of Peace by Mouneb Taim, portrays Syrian musician Muhammad, known locally as the “Peace Player,” performing atop rubble in Idlib, Syria, bringing moments of calm and joy to children and families surrounded by destruction.

Juror Anand called the image “a stunning picture. Pausing in the violence of rubble, to dwell in the possibility of life.”

Hillier selected the photograph as her top choice, writing: “Especially fitting subject matter in a year we’ve witnessed wars around the world. This image captures the humanity of those who are trying to move forward, making music and loving children, literally amidst the rubble.”

Other jurors reflected on the remarkable breadth and emotional depth of this year’s submissions. Matthew Neff, Director, Undergraduate Fine Arts and Design and Associate Adjunct Professor, Weitzman School of Design noted that he was especially drawn to photographs emphasizing “nourishment, care, and community,” as did Jennifer Whittaker, Research Scientist, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Policy Lab, who also ranked Light of Empowerment among her top selections.

Collectively, the submissions reinforced that shared urban spaces—whether in streets, markets, rooftops, flood zones, or homes—remain sites of care, adaptation, and democratic life. At a moment of global instability and polarization, the photographs revealed how ordinary people continue to build community and possibility within the everyday fabric of cities.

Winning and honorable mention photographs will be featured across Penn IUR’s digital platforms. To learn more about Penn IUR’s annual photography contest, now in its 10^th year, visit https://penniur.upenn.edu/media/photography-contest.