Terms and Conditions

The Young European Ambassadors initiative invites young people (age 18 to 29) from across the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia – to apply to the Photo contest ‘Your lens. Your story!’.

This Photo contest is part of the EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans. The programme is funded by the European Union and implemented by a communication agency, WEGlobal SRL.

The Terms & Conditions presented here apply at every phase of participation in the Photo contest ‘Your lens.Your story!’.

The Call is open to all applicants who meet the criteria outlined in Article 3.

Via this Photo contest you have the opportunity to:

• Connect with young people across Western Balkans by sharing of common values and connection through sports and well-being.
• Pursue your own talents and compete with your photo proposals (up to 2).
• Become the voice of young people and inspire positive change.
• Promote EU values though creativity and photography
• Enhance cooperation and interaction among youth at both the local and regional levels, towards boosting youth participation and strengthening a European identity
• Engage with local EU Houses and be part of the exhibition, if selected to top 18 photos from the Western Balkans region.
• Compete in the online voting process that will, next to Jury selection be a selection by the audience and win a valuable prize.
• Participate in the virtual closing event with peers from the Western Balkans.

Applications must be submitted online at the Thematic campaign section of the WeBalkans.eu website. The deadline is April 30th. Applications made through the submission of physical photos, will not be considered as eligible applications to the Photo contest ‘Your lens. Your story!’.

Eligibility criteria for applicants:

• You must be between 18 and 29 years old when you submit your photo for the Photo contest ‘Your lens. Your story!’
• You must be a resident of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, or Serbia
• You must submit original photographs taken by yourself in one of the following areas
  • Sports
  • Well-being.
• The deadline for submission is 30th April. Late entries will not be accepted.
• Photos must be in high resolution (more than 12 megapixels), in JPEG format, up to 10 MB size.
• Each submission must include the participant’s full name, entity in Western Balkans, contact details, photo title, and a brief description (max. 100 characters).
• Winners will be notified via email and must confirm acceptance within 7 days. Failure to respond may result in disqualification and selection of an alternative winner.
• Working language of the contest is English
• Participants retain the copyright to their submitted photos. By entering the Contest, participants grant the Organizers a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, publish, and display the submitted photos for promotional and non-commercial purposes, including exhibitions, social media, websites, and printed materials. Participants must ensure that their submissions do not infringe on any third-party rights.

Only fully completed applications that have been submitted through the online form on webalkans.eu website will be eligible for acceptance into the Photo contest ‘Your lens.Your story!’ process. For any technical issues related to the photo upload or application form, please contact our Technical Support: [email protected]

Submission is free of charge.

Submissions that fall into any of the following categories will be deemed ineligible: Applications that are incomplete or that lack mandatory information/content.

• Applications that do not meet the criteria stated in Article 3.
• Applications that are not submitted by the set deadline.
• Applications that violate the Terms & Conditions listed in Articles 6, 7, and 9.
• Applicant(s) who do not fulfil basic eligibility criteria will not be considered in the selection process.
• Only eligible applicants will receive notification, and be proposed for inclusion in the voting process.
• Applications that are ineligible will be automatically excluded from the selection process without prior notification.

The WeBalkans project management team has sole discretion to determine an entry’s eligibility. Entries that do not comply with formal requirements, contain offensive content, or are otherwise objectionable, will be disqualified. WeBalkans project management team reserve the right to reject submissions/entries without providing supporting reasons or notice.

There is no legal recourse if an application is disqualified for the above-stated reasons.

For enquiries either on an application’s status, or its eligibility, please contact: [email protected]

Please note that entire selection process of 18 best photos (3 from each Western Balkans entity) will be done by a professional Jury, that will have one representative per Western Balkans entity (total of 6 Jury members).

All 18 photos will be published on the WeBalkans.eu website (Thematic campaign section), as well as the communication programme’s official channels and social media platforms.

Photos to be uploaded to the Photo contest ‘Your lens.Your story!’ form must be in high resolution (more than 12 megapixels), in JPEG format, up to 10 MB size. Photos that do not meet these standards will not be considered.

By agreeing to these Terms & Conditions, applicants authorize the EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans:

• to use without restriction photographs bearing their image as described above in all types of publications, and in any form of televisual broadcasting or communication via the Internet;
• to include and archive these photographs in the EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans and European Union’s online databases, accessible online to the public, and free of charge. Third parties that have access to these databases may use said photographs and/or films in compliance with the EC's Decision on the re-using of the Commission's documents (2011/833/EU) for informational or educational purposes only, in order to illustrate or promote activities or projects of European institutions and the European Union in the past, present, and future

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans guarantees that personal data relating to applicants are processed according to the rules set by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 October 2018 (repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001). Data may be archived by the European Commission.

The applicant understands that as the data’s subject, they have the right to access data, be informed on the existence and extent of data processing, rectify incorrect personal data, and oppose further processing, on serious and legitimate grounds.

To exercise these rights, please contact the EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans at the following address: [email protected]

More information on data protection and privacy policy is set out in Article 9 of these Terms & Conditions

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans reserves the right to disqualify and/or exclude a participant in the event that the presented Terms & Conditions are not respected, and/or unacceptable behavior is demonstrated at any point throughout the duration of the project.

The European spirit, fair contest, respect, friendship, team spirit, equality, respect for written and unwritten rules such as integrity, solidarity, tolerance, care, excellence, and joy, form the building blocks of the ‘fair play’ concept that is being promoted by the network.

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans and the European Commission reserves the right to be the deciding party in the event of unforeseen circumstances, or in the amendment of rules, during the course of the entire duration of the project.

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans welcomes applications from young people with disabilities who satisfy the general application criteria. The WeBalkans management team will, to the best of its efforts, ensure that a applicant with disabilities is able to fully participate in its events – including online activities and travel functions – as agreed with the participant, in case their photo is selected among the best 18 photos.

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans guarantees that personal data relating to applicants are processed according to the rules set by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 October 2018 (repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001). Data may be archived by the European Commission.

Data requested will only be used for the purpose of selecting chosen applicants and enabling the activities under the Photo contest ‘Your lens.Your story!’.

The Privacy Policy (https://www.webalkans.eu/privacy-policy) of the EU Communication Programme for the Western Balkans explains how the project uses their personal data and how the privacy of said data is protected.

Applicants may exercise the right to recourse at any time to the European Data Protection Supervisor.

By agreeing to these Terms & Conditions, candidates give their consent to the processing of their personal data to the extent necessary for the achievement of the purposes mentioned above.

This project is governed by EU law. The Court of Justice of the European Union shall have sole jurisdiction to hear any dispute between the Union and any beneficiary concerning the interpretation, application, or validity of the rules of this project, if such dispute cannot be settled amicably.

Potential complaints and enquiries concerning the Photo contest ‘Your lens.Your story!’ selection process can be directed to this email: [email protected]

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans reserves the right to terminate complaint procedure at any moment if inappropriate behaviour or tone of voice are demonstrated on behalf of complainer.

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans and/or the European Commission cannot be held accountable for any form of harmful online behaviour outside of the channels controlled and managed by the organisers themselves.

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans and/or the European Commission cannot be held responsible for the cancellation, postponement, or modification of the dates or activities of the Western Balkans’ Communication Programme for the YEA Network due to unforeseen circumstances.

Participation in any part of the Young European Ambassadors project implies full acceptance of the above regulations.

A help desk will be made available should you have any doubts or if you require further information. Please refer to the following email: [email protected]