MARE24
MARE presents the V Edition of the Audiovisual Contest for the Conservation of the Balearic Sea; MARE24
MARE, the Audiovisual Competition for the Conservation of the Balearic Sea is now in its 5th edition, inviting photographers to portray the beauty of the sea to promote its protection.
Prizes and categories
Through the images, MARE helps us to get to know the marine life and landscapes of the Balearic archipelago with a clear objective: to promote its conservation. In this edition, there will once again be three participation profiles – expert, amateur and youth, the latter for children under 16 years of age – and the ‘Mare Popularis’ category will be maintained, in which the public can vote for the winning image.
Expert and amateur participants will be able to submit their photographs for the following 6 categories:
- MARE Animalia: Images highlighting the personality of marine animals in their environment;
- MARE Botanica: Images showing the importance of a plant species in its environment;
- MARE Sapiens: Images showing the positive relationship between the sea and people;
- MARE Denuntiare: Images showing the negative side of the relationship between humans and the sea;
- MARE Nostrum: Images of the Mediterranean Sea taken both in and out of the water, telling spectacular stories;
- MARE Popularis: public prize.
In addition, 6 honourable mentions will be awarded, 3 for Marine Protected Areas and 3 for Water Quality.
As a novelty, the competition includes a new honourable mention dedicated ‘to a concept open to multiple interpretations, but incredibly important for our ecosystems and our society: the quality of our waters. “Vulnerable waters mistreated and constantly rising in temperature. But also clean, crystalline, and turquoise waters, full of life, emotions and experience” according to Abraham Calero, Technical Manager of the competition.
The rules of the competition can be consulted here.Images may be submitted from 1 July until 15 September.
An exceptional jury
This year’s jury is made up of Debora Morrison, director of the Palma Aquarium Foundation, who emphasized that her participation focuses on the most emotional part, on what an image makes her feel. “The expression: A picture is worth a thousand words, takes on greater validity and relevance if possible, when we see the photographs that are presented. That transmission of emotions and feelings, the strength and power of an image can change the way you think or the way you act”. Pep Bonet, the award-winning Mallorcan film-maker and photographer, and Rafael Fernández Caballero, who was named Underwater Photographer of the Year in 2022 are the two other members of this year’s Jury
More than 4,500 images
Since its first edition in 2020, MARE has received more than 4,500 images from 450 photographers. You can see the winning images from all editions here.
Presentation under the sea
The presentation ceremony of the 5th edition of the MARE competition brought together photographers, conservation organisations, collaborators and the media in Port Adriano in an event that marked the starting signal for participation in the competition. “MARE is a project built on solid values; scientific support, ethics of nature photography and inclusivity. We bring to light the beauty of our sea, with a key message of conservation, but to scale this message, we need the involvement of all actors; society, public administration and private initiatives’ said Amador Garcias, coordinator of MARE.
The Marilles Foundation, the driving force behind MARE, has also been represented by its Director, Aniol Esteban, who has pointed out that through images, a positive story and the participation of thousands of citizens, MARE can achieve commitments for the conservation of the Balearic Sea. “In the context in which we live, MARE is more important than ever. Marine Protected Spaces are a very abstract concept; MARE helps to make the invisible visible and puts them in value in a practical and visual way”.
MARE has an Advisory Board made up of experts who endorse and guide the way forward, such as Agustí Torres, director of SharkMed, an organisation that fights for the recovery and conservation of sharks in the Western Mediterranean, who has highlighted that ‘Photography and audiovisual language currently occupy a very relevant place in our society at many levels; they are means of expression, channels for sharing our experiences or promoting awareness of conservation’.
After the presentation on land, the participants embarked on the Blue Circle, an electric catamaran of the Trueworld Organization, in the direction of the Malgrats Islands marine reserve. According to Marco Mendoza, CEO of Trueworld, “this is the only 100% electric passenger catamaran, a demonstration of innovation as a key player in the transition that our islands need and an ideal platform for carrying out low-impact and responsible activities”. With the same commitment and Trueworld’s participation, the event will calculate its carbon footprint to analyse improvements and reduce its environmental impact as much as possible”.
Once there, the photographers Sílvia Mus, Julia Miralles and Jordi Cerdà, together with around twenty diving enthusiasts, have immersed themselves in the search for images of the marine landscape, which they have then ceded to MARE. At the gates of the 5th Edition, more than 1,500 images have already been ceded by photographers for conservation purposes.
Prizes and awards
A total of 10,000 € will be distributed in 26 prizes – in the form of a cash prize for the Adult participation and underwater equipment for the Youth participation. The awards at MARE serve to build a collective appreciation of the Balearic Sea and to give further recognition to the participants, who each year help to connect the public with the sea.
Through the images submitted to the competition, outdoor exhibitions are held to help raise awareness of the sea that surrounds us and to accelerate its conservation. The selected photographs will be included on our website and may form part of a travelling exhibition that will tour the Balearic Islands during the year 2025.
MARE activities: exhibitions, workshops, diving and photography
During the spring and summer months of 2024, different activities will be developed to promote coastal and underwater photography in collaboration with conservation organisations and diving centres associated with MARE. In addition, we will have different travelling exhibitions of the winning photographs from previous editions.
On MARE’s website and social networks you can consult the agenda with all the activities programmed.
Photographs donated for the conservation of the Balearic Sea
40% of the photographs submitted in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions of MARE have been donated for conservation purposes, a sign of the great generosity and awareness of the participants.
A collaborative initiative open to further support
MARE is a collaborative Balearic initiative open to support and donations from other institutions and companies that wish to contribute to making the beauty of the Balearic Sea visible and working for its conservation.
It has the financial support of the Marilles Foundation, and the collaboration of, among others, Menorca Reserva de la Biosfera, IbizaPreservation, Mallorca Preservation Foundation, Menorca Preservation , Save the Med, Iniciatives Mediterrànies, Foro Marino de Ibiza y Formentera, MedGardens, Arrels Marines, Mar de Fondo, GOB Menorca, True World, etc…