Youth Lens on the Silk Roads” is an international photo competition. This project aims to raise awareness of the importance of the Silk Roads’ shared legacy, as a basis for mutual understanding and respect in our globalised world. Some 6,625 young men and women aged 14-25, from 100 countries along the historic routes, and beyond used their unique lenses to capture representations of the shared cultural heritage of the Silk Road. The current album presents 70 of the best of the submitted photos, accompanied by the photographers’ testimonies on their perception of this shared heritage.

“Barika camp” In 2016, a contest was launched for children in Barika refugee camp in Iraqui Kurdistan . The themes of the contest were, “camp life”, “family” and “friends”. Seven winners were chosen, and each received a brand new laptop.

In June of 2012, Reza partnered with the non-governmental organization IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Action) and launched the international photography contest, “Children’s Eyes on Earth.” The purpose of this competition was to raise children’s awareness of major environmental issues and more generally encourage them to look at the world in a different way through the use of photography. The contest, of which the theme was, “I love nature. I fear pollution,” saw 4,000 submissions from 1,200 young photographers from 91 countries.

In May of 2013, an international photography festival and award ceremony — attended by photography professionals from across the globe — was organized in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 100 best images from the competition were exhibited. The six winners accompanied by their families were invited to participate in the Award Ceremony and then in different photography workshops with Reza.