Post a photo, raise awareness on the importance of soils, win a prize! 

This year, soils are at the centre of global attention. As part of the International Year of Soils, we are turning to you to help FAO highlight the importance of sustainable soil management.

We are launching the #soils4life contest on Instagram to share photos related to soils, their potential, their functions, but also instances of exploitation or abuse to help draw attention to the myriad of issues concerning this valuable resource. 

How to participate: 

1.Take a photo of something you want to draw attention to regarding soils and share it on Instagram. The photo must be original, which means you should take it yourself. Your photos are governed under the Instagram terms of use.

2.Tell in the posting where the photo was taken, and why you think soils are important for a healthy life. Include the hashtag #soils4life. Don’t forget to set your account to “public” to have your likes counted!

3.In the first round of the contest, the 20 photos with the most likes on their Instagram account will be selected for a second round of voting. Other social media channels do not matter for this contest!

4.The final 20 photos will be featured on the @UNFAO Instagram account and a photo album will be shared on the FAO webpage.

5.During the second round, people will vote on the FAO Instagram account the three out of twenty best soil photos.

Dates:

The first stage of the contest will run from 2 April until 17 May. All photos posted during this time with #soils4life hashtag will be eligible.

The final counting for likes will take place on 17 May and the 20 finalists will be selected and their pictures posted on the FAO Instagram account the following week. The finalists will be contacted by the FAO social media team for more information.

The second stage of the contest will start on 25 May.

The three most voted photos out of the twenty on our Instagram account will be announced on 15 June.

Prizes for the three winners will include an International Year of Soils goody bag to be delivered directly to the winners*. 

Spread the word:

Even if you don’t participate in the contest, you can spread the word across your network and help us raise awareness of the contest and the International Year of Soils. We are looking for photos related to soils from around the world, which can cover any aspect that you deem important and want to share. If you want to share more than one photo, please do! There is no limit to how many pictures you can post!

* The social media team in FAO will contact all winners for their high resolution photos as well as for information on where to deliver prizes.