The Maldives has an average height of 1.5 meters which makes it the flattest country on earth. This is significant when it comes to global warming because this makes the Maldives one of the most vulnerable places to climate change. The UN Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change predictions suggests that the Maldives will be facing a catastrophe of immense proportions by the end of the century if global warming continues at the rate it is currently increasing.

To highlight this plight, the Maldives Photographers Association and the Maldives Science Society are organising a campaign called Postcards from the Frontline.

Postcards from the Frontline is an initiative by the Maldivian photographers to inform world leaders of our undeserved plight, and appeal to them to save us from disappearing from the earth’s surface.

Postcards from the Frontline aims to give a voice to Maldivians. Depicting more than the usual ‘wish you were here’ cliches (a sandy beach, a turquoise sea, an idle hammock) these photos will show the world honest images of life in these low lying islands. These 350 photographic appeals of real experiences, real challenges and real stories of life in the Maldives will then be crafted as post-cards and sent to 350 world leaders who will decide the fate of the Maldives at the crucial UN Climate Change Conference Copenehagen 2009 (COP15) this December.

Call for Entries

We request all members of the public to submit photos for the cause. Entries do not need to fit into a conventional photographic category. The point is to accommodate a wide variety of images that portray the reality of life in the Maldives, as perceived and decided by you, the photographer. This is a chance to move beyond the usual, the typical, the constructed. It is a chance to show a global audience the authenticity in your Maldives the way you see it.

Application forms can be downloaded here.