Photographers and videographers from Malta, Bulgaria, Estonia and Portugal are invited to participate in a photo and video competition forming part of Re:turn to the Future, a European Union-funded campaign in these four EU countries. The competition is marking the 50^th anniversary since the introduced of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) whose objective is to ensure sufficient food provision to the EU population.

This competition will try to capture the world of agriculture in Europe through imagery that connects the past and the future.

The initiative is set to recognize the outstanding use of video and photography in recounting compelling stories of the life of agricultural producers and the impact that their achievements has on European citizens.

Video artists and photographers – professional and amateurs alike – are invited to submit images that embody the spirit of the European village and the remarkable local food products of the European states and regions in a variety of formats. These could also be in the form of posters, multimedia and art installations.

Submitted works will be judged on creativity and production/photographic quality.

The Competition has three themes: quality, diversity, health – the European agricultural policy and production; the future of rural society, and organic farming and agritourism.

The grand prize winner will be invited to visit the European Parliament in Brussels. In addition, participants will be ranked under each of the three themes of the photo and video competitions.

The deadline for submission of works is 26^th November, 2012. After the submission deadline, a jury will short-list about 30 photos or photo-stories and 30 videos.

The grand prize winner and the winners by theme will be selected by a jury from the received short-listed works and will be presented on the web site of the project.

For more information, one may visit: http://photo.europe.bg/en/

 What is the CAP?

The European Union’s farm policy – known as the common agricultural policy (CAP) – is one of the oldest EU policies. It is aimed at ensuring adequate, stable and efficient production of high-quality food which is competitive on world markets, while promoting the economic development of rural areas and encouraging environmentally-friendly production methods. It organises the markets in agriculture products, defines how and on what conditions EU agricultural funding will be distributed to farmers in different member states and provides support for farmers in the event of natural disasters or outbreaks of animal diseases.

Agriculture policy is determined at EU level by the European Parliament and Council (EU farm ministers) and implemented on the ground by the member states. In 2011 the CAP cost €57.3 billion: 41.4% of the overall EU budget.