Children's Eyes On Earth Winner Announced

The winners of the Children's Eyes On Earth International Youth Photography Contest have been announced.

First prize has gone to eight year old Anastasya Vorobko from Saint Petersburg in Russia, for her image 'SOS!'

The Children's Eyes On Earth International Youth Photography Contest aims to raise awareness of environmental issues through the eyes of young people and their photographs.

Anastasya’s photograph was selected from thousands of entries from over 90 countries. Showing an artistic maturity beyond her years, the photograph depicts a bird flying over the thick smog being emitted from a factory funnel. Anastasya has only been taking photographs for a year but is keen to document the environment through photography. Upon finding out that she had won the contest, she said:

"I'm so excited about winning the Children's Eyes On Earth contest – it's really inspired me to keep taking photographs to tell stories. I wanted to show everyone how bad the air is in our city. I see the bird in this picture as carrying a message around the world, with the hope that adults everywhere will start to care about the air that we breathe. If we don't look after our planet, then who will?"

The full list of 2012 winners are:

First prize: SOS! By Anastasya Vorobko, 8 years old from Russia
Second prize: Emergency Exit by Juan Carlos Canales, 14 years old from Spain
Third prize (joint): Fields of Green by Bianca Stan, 14 years old from Romania and Morning at Situ Gunung by Michael Theodric, 10 years old from Indonesia
Special prize: In The Wind by Sophie Vela, 14 years old from France
Your Choice Public Vote prize: The Last Breath by Kseniya Saberzhanova, 17 years old from Russia

The Children's Eyes On Earth International Youth Photography Contest, Festival And Exhibition 2012, will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 26th November to 1st December 2012. It will be a chance to view the contest entries and winning photographs. An international event, the festival and exhibition will visit major cities around the world and raise global awareness about environmental issues.

For more information and to see more images, visit the Children's Eyes On Earth website.