By the end of this century, up to two-third of all glaciers worldwide could disappear – an alarming scenario that threatens the future of water supply in many places.
A photo story contest organized by UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme and Onewater, a Germany-based non-profit outfit, chose to bring to focus our melting glaciers. The competition titled ‘Walk of Water’ highlights solutions and impacts around melting glaciers and water storage globally.
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The contest received over 7,000 entries from 104 countries. The theme, Water Towers, aligned with the International Year of Glacier Preservation 2025, encouraged creative depictions of glaciers, traditional water towers, and innovative water storage solutions.
The competition awarded €20,000 in prizes, supported by MPB, the Asian Development Bank, Onewater, and the City of Burghausen.
Slovenian photographer Ciril Jazbec won the first prize for capturing Ladakh’s ingenious ice stupas—artificial glaciers built to store water for dry months. Regional winners included Michele Lapini (Regional Europe prize), whose work highlighted Italy’s thermal-blanket initiative to slow the melting of the Presena Glacier, and Érico Hiller (Regional Asia prize), who documented ice storage practices in northern India.
The diverse submissions featured breathtaking scenes of ice climbers in the Alps, indigenous festivals in the Andes, the world’s highest city, Africa’s last glacier, and polar landscapes, underscoring humanity’s connection to water and the need to protect glaciers and ice – our planet’s natural water towers.
“The diversity and creativity of the entries show how deeply people around the world are connected to the resource of water. They are a wake-up call to the critical importance of protecting glaciers and mountains, our water towers, for the future of humanity.” said Michela Miletto, Director of UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme.
The winning photographs will feature in a global traveling exhibition throughout 2025. Organizations who want to host the exhibition can express interest until March 1.
