CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

INTRODUCTION

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide is an exciting photography project that highlights the work of Lendwithcare, an initiative of leading aid and development charity CARE International UK, which empowers entrepreneurs to work their way out of poverty with dignity through the provision of micro lending and business skills training. Lendwithcare enables people in the UK to uniquely connect with an entrepreneur in a developing country who needs a loan to support their small business.

The project will create powerful photo essays featuring inspiring women entrepreneurs in five of the countries where Lendwithcare operates: , Ecuador, Zimbabwe, The and Zambia. The photo essays will provide an in-depth visual narrative focusing on how entrepreneurship provides positive and sustainable social change for individuals, families and communities generated by a cyclical financial model of micro lending.

Local professional documentary photographers will be commissioned to produce the photo essays, where possible, thereby engaging artists from within the countries themselves, leveraging their knowledge of local customs and language and reducing the need for international air travel.

The work will be used in campaigns by the core partners and key sponsors to promote the benefits of micro finance lending schemes which help some of the world’s poorest women.

It is also intended that the work will be exhibited at a central London location, launching on International Women’s Day in March 2017. PARTNERS:

This project is a collaboration between FotoDocument, a unique not-for-profit arts education organisation, Lendwithcare, part of CARE International; and RubyMoon, a sustainable fashion business, which currently lends 100% of its net profits through Lendwithcare.

FotoDocument is a unique arts education organisation, which brings visibility to positive social and environmental initiatives around the world through commissioning professional photo essays and installing the work in public spaces to inspire and engage a diverse audience. FotoDocument also runs participatory photography workshops and events and creates photo-based schools resources for children and young people. The work is intended to create a sense of active global citizenship by engaging the public in powerful storylines which affect us all through the powerful medium of documentary photography. FotoDocument recently received a PEA Award for their most recent project, One Planet City. www.fotodocument.org @fotodocument

Lendwithcare is the microfinance initiative of CARE International. Microfinance can directly improve the lives of women entrepreneurs, their families and communities at a grass-roots level. CARE International was founded 70 years ago at the end of the Second World War, giving ‘care packages’ to war torn Europe. They are now a global humanitarian organisation fighting poverty and injustice in developing countries. The UK office, CARE International UK, was founded in 1985. CARE provides emergency assistance in times of crisis and addresses the root causes of poverty, providing sustainable solutions, including the Lendwithcare crowd-funding initiative which enables people to make small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries to start or grow a small business and work their own way out of poverty. www.lendwithcare.org @lendwithcare

RubyMoon Swim & Activewear is a sustainable social business that has to date helped over 160 women entrepreneurs launch or grow their own commercial enterprise through Lendwithcare. RubyMoon is a registered Community Interest Company that has sustainability, the environment, ethics and positive social impact as the four pillars of its business model. RubyMoon’s products have a greatly reduced environmental cost when compared to others. Garments are made in Europe from ocean-polluting fishing nets that are re-spun into nylon, turning waste into something useful and fashionable. www.rubymoon.org.uk @rubymoonswim SUBMISSION OVERVIEW:

FotoDocument will commission five talented documentary photographers to each produce a compelling and cohesive photo essay focusing on women entrepreneurs in the commission country which clearly demonstrates the positive impact of micro lending.

The photo essays will be created over a period of five months between May – October 2016, allowing time for in-depth research, building of relationships and trust with the women, their families and communities and allowing for a variety of shooting locations and situations.

During the commission period, selected photographers will work closely with FotoDocument, Lendwithcare and the relevant local micro finance agency on the ground within the commission country. Each photographer will be assigned an artistic mentor and a microfinance expert during the commissioning period to help them to produce their best work possible.

Eligibility:

• Submissions are welcomed from established and emerging photographers. • Postgraduate photography students will be considered. • Photographers must be at least 18 years old. • Photographers must live in one of the countries where the commissions will take place o OR live in a country which is near to one of the countries where the commissions will take place o OR if situated in another part of the world, including the UK, must have a strong connection to one of the commission countries AND a compelling reason to do the work there. • Applicants must have a valid bank account in the country where they live.

Submission process:

Alongside a completed application form and CV, photographers will be required to submit an existing body of documentary work on any subject, which demonstrates they can convey a coherent and cohesive visual narrative and produce outstanding images.

Checklist:

• Completed application form • CV SUBMISSION OVERVIEW- CONT.

• A minimum of fifteen Jpeg (no TIFF or RAW) photographs (approx 2MB each and 150 dpi) documenting a single theme submitted: o Via DropBox – please supply a DropBox link where indicated on the application form OR o Via a web link which leads directly to a slideshow - please do not just provide a general website, you need to give a URL address for a specific body of work which you would like us to view

Jpeg files in DropBox must be saved with your name (firstname_surname_01.jpeg etc.) and with complete embedded IPTC information: copyright, caption, date and place. Captions must be clearly displayed on any slideshow if directing to a specific URL or clearly cross-referenced on an accompanying word document which is attached with the application form and CV. Please do NOT use We Transfer to send your photographs. Only work submitted in one of the ways described above can be considered for selection. All submissions should be sent to [email protected] Applicants will receive confirmation that their application has been received by 4 May 2016. If they have not received notification by this date they should get in touch.

Selection criteria:

Photographers will be judged on the artistic excellence of their existing work, their track record of delivering documentary photography projects, their motivation for undertaking this commission and how they intend to approach the project. Short-listed applicants will be interviewed via Skype following the selection committee panel meeting.

The judging panel will be made up of specialists in the field of documentary photography and microfinance including Nina Emett (Documentary Photographer & Director of FotoDocument), Melanie Friend (Documentary Photographer & Senior Lecturer at University of Sussex), Tracey Horner (Head of Lendwithcare), Jo Godden (Director of RubyMoon), Henry Bartram (CEO of Thrive Microfinance Ltd), Regan Leahy (Assistant Citizenship Manger at Hogan Lovells).

Fee:

A fee of £2k is payable to each photographer for the commission. This amount includes the fee to carry out the work and any expenses the photographer may incur during the process such as travel or subsistence. £500 will be paid at the start of the commission with the balance of £1.5k payable on successful completion of the project. COMMISSIONING TERMS:

Copyright of the photographs will remain with the photographer and will be credited as ©photographername/FotoDocument to represent the commissioning relationship. The photographer will license to FotoDocument reproduction rights in any media worldwide in perpetuity. In addition to the commission fee, photographers will receive 50% of any reproduction or sale profits arising from their photographs although selling the work is neither an intention nor priority for the project.

Core partners Lendwithcare and RubyMoon, and key sponsors who may be named at different times during the project, will also be granted licensing rights to reproduce the full set of photographs each photographer produces in perpetuity in any media worldwide, but not for sale purposes. Secondary sponsors and second-tier partners may be granted licensing rights to use ten photographs for the project they are connected to, but not for sale purposes. A contract with full terms and conditions will be issued to photographers on selection.

Commission timeline:

Photographers will have a period of approximately five months to complete their photo essay. Photographers will take part in the editing of the work and assembling the storyboard in tandem with the commissioner.

31 March 2016 Call for Submissions opens

29 April 2016 Deadline for photographer submissions

9 May 2016 Selected photographers are announced

16 May 2016 Start of commissioning period

14 Oct 2016 Photographers submit first 100 photographs w/detailed captions

17 Oct – 23 Dec 2016 Editing of photographs & captions with commissioner

9 Jan – 28 Feb Design and printing of work for exhibition

March 2017 Launch of photo essays on International Women’s Day 2017 BACKGROUND:

Rationale The photo essays will raise awareness of the real and positive long-term outcomes for women in developing countries, their families and communities, made possible through microfinance lending. The campaign will directly engage the UK public to lend to women in developing countries through Lendwithcare. The ultimate aims of the project are to raise awareness of microfinance and increase the number of loans to women entrepreneurs. Microfinance is a sustainable solution to alleviating poverty, creating a virtuous cycle of investment and income. Women are disproportionately affected by poverty yet are key to development in poorer nations. Studies have shown women are the change agents of the family: they invest in businesses to generate income and spend a greater proportion of this income on the welfare of their families and communities - improving housing, nutrition and children’s education. Microfinance lending can therefore be particularly effective when directed at women, empowering them to plan a stable future.

Project Outcomes and social impact The photo essays will achieve the following main objectives:- • Raise awareness in the UK of the social and economic benefits of microfinance in developing countries which enables women to build a sustainable income for themselves, their families and communities • Directly engage and inspire more people in the UK to lend to women in developing countries through Lendwithcare • Directly engage and inspire more businesses in the UK to lend to women in developing countries through Lendwithcare • Increase engagement of local photographers in developing countries in the arts by commissioning the work locally

CASE STUDY FROM LENDWITHCARE Christina Reyes - Philippines Christina received a loan through Lendwithcare to create her own business, Project Lily. Hyacinths, also known as water lilies, are free-floating aquatic plants common in the Philippines. They grow incredibly quickly and can be damaging to their natural habitat: preventing the regular flow of water currents and trapping waste in lakes and rivers, causing flooding and increasing the risk of spreading diseases such as dengue fever. Christina collects the plants and weaves them into a variety of wares including flip-flops, baskets, traditional bags, lampshades and furniture. She employs 25 single mothers from her community, who mostly work from home so they can continue to look after their children. The Lendwithcare loan enabled her to buy the equipment she needed to run the business, providing a solution to an environmental problem and creating an income for both her family and the local community. BACKGROUND CONT:

HOW THE LENDING WORKS

To watch a two minute film about how microfinance works, please visit: http://www.lendwithcare.org/info/ how_it_works

It is important you familiarise yourself with the subject of micro finance before completing your application.

We look forward to receiving your submission at [email protected] by 5pm on 29 April 2016.