Borders Calling

B-SHAPES photo competition for high school students

Competition Closed
This competition ran from 15 December 2025 – 31 January 2026.
View full competition rules and regulations

Borders are everywhere—not just between countries, but in your neighbourhood, your city, even in the spaces you pass through every day. Some are visible, like walls or rivers. Others are invisible, like where different communities meet or where one culture transitions into another.
This competition invited you to explore the borders around you and discover the stories they tell. What divides your community? What brings it together? How do these boundaries shape who you are?

The mission: Find a border in your surroundings, capture it through your camera lens, and tell us its story.

What we looked for: Borderlandscapes
A borderlandscape is an outdoor space where human-made elements (buildings, roads, fences, objects, even trash) meet natural elements (rivers, fields, forests, mountains) to create some kind of division. These spaces have stories to tell about identity, history, and community.

Questions to consider:

What story do you want to tell?
What is the border in your photo?
How does this border influence the landscape and the people around it?
What local stories make up this borderland?
How does the landscape reflect local identity and culture?
What feelings do you—and others in your community—have about this border?
What do the borderlands tell us about who we are?

You don't need to live in a border region to participate. Every place has borders worth exploring.

Winners

1st place:
Between Two Shores - Tobias Maňák
This photograph was taken on the Danube River near Devín Castle. I was drawn to the calm atmosphere and the space between the two riverbanks. The river forms a natural boundary that separates the two shores, while a ship quietly moves through it. For me, this place represents a pause a moment between movement and stillness, city and nature. The boundary does not feel sharp, but calm and natural.
The photo was taken in Bratislava, Slovakia.

2nd place:
Slovak strength - Yekateryna Buslova
Bratislava Castle watches over the Danube as a symbol of survival and memory. The shattered brick wall in the foreground is not just a ruin, but a scar - one of the last physical traces of a world that no longer exists. Behind it rise the Slovak National Uprising Bridge and modern buildings, standing on the ground where Vydrica once lived, breathed, and remembered. Its destruction by fire and later by deliberate demolition erased centuries of human stories, homes, and identity. This image is filled with absence: a silent mourning for a lost district.
The photo was taken in Bratislava, Slovakia.

3rd place:
This is Badagry - Ojo Moses
In this photograph, two boys stand on a cemented seat marking the border in Badagry, Nigeria. Once a key centre of the transatlantic slave trade and the gateway from Benin, Badagry is a place where history and modern life meet. The boys’ stance symbolizes living between boundaries: past and present, tradition and change. It reflects the daily life of a town shaped by borders, culture, and identity. By capturing this moment, the photo tells a story about my local environment, showing how people inhabit, negotiate, and move across the spaces that define them.
The photo was taken in Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Honourable Mentions

1/10

Where the Mountain draws the lines - Tristan Osmani

2/10

Wooden Line - Afonso Castro

3/10

From Chanterelles to Mines - Marta Leshchenko

4/10

Framing the Marshland - Agnes Hellmann

5/10

City behind the wall - Omar Mokhtar Mohammed

6/10

Border-Lands - Lukas Tarcik

7/10

A Wounded Soldier - Jack Little

8/10

Between Forest and Stone - Iasmin Bouri

9/10

The house without borders - Amelia Miftari

10/10

The day I sat still - Demetriana Mnasonos

Competition Details

Who could participate?
All high school students aged 15-19 living anywhere in Europe

Competition dates:
15 December 2025 – 31 January 2026

What participants submitted:
1. A photo – taken with any device (yes, smartphones count!)
2. A title for the photo
3. A description in English (max. 100 words) – Explaining the connection between the photo and the competition theme.

Judging:
A jury of competition organizers, and B-SHAPES project consortium members will evaluate the submissions. Learn more about B-SHAPES here.

Prizes:
1st place: €300
2nd place: €200
3rd place: €100

Entry Details

We looked for compelling stories and thoughtful interpretations of borders, not professional-level photography. Photos taken on phones had just as much chance of winning as those taken with professional cameras.

What makes a strong entry:
• A clear connection to the theme of borders and borderlandscapes
• A thoughtful description that helped us understand the participant's perspective
• Creativity in how you interpret "border"
• A photo that captures a story about your local environment

For Teachers

Educational materials remain available on the Hi-Story Lessons platform for teachers and students interested in exploring borders, visual storytelling, and local heritage.

The Hi-Story Lessons plan includes:
• Introduction to border issues and landscape
• Visual storytelling basics
• Guides for conducting local walks with students
• Tips on connecting with local communities
• Ideas for organizing school photo exhibitions

Access the materials: Available free on the platform Hi-Story Lessons for teachers.
Click here for the lesson plans.

Teacher FAQ:
Can I use these materials if I don't teach in a border region?
Yes! The lesson plan works for any region. Borders exist everywhere, and this is a great opportunity to discuss local history and identity.

My students aren't photography experts. Can we still use these materials?
Absolutely. The materials include guidance on visual storytelling created by specialists and prioritizes interesting stories and commentary on borders over technical photography skills.

Partners

Organisers

ENRS is funded by: