The contest is an endeavor to encourage social accountability among citizens in the country. Arranged by the radio program Gaun Gaunma Singha Durbar, the contest began in February and recently concluded its second phase. The program is a joint effort of Search for Common Ground (SFCG) and Antenna Foundation Nepal, and is being supported by USAID. The show is aired every week via 50 radio stations.The organizers are hoping to reveal the best of government offices as well as the worst practices and services they offer to the common man. And with the majority of people owning mobile phones and cameras, the organizers believe it will encourage participation from many people. This is a platform for the good deeds to be noticed and congratulated while giving a chance for the ignored or misdeeds to improve.
Three winners are selected every 15 days, based on the number of likes they receive for their photograph, a lucky draw and a decision from a jury of experts. Winners receive gift hampers consisting of bags, USB flash drives and mugs.
Participants include government employees, journalists, and common citizens from Janakpur, Baglung, Pokhara, Rolpa, Bardiya, Kathmandu, Mahottari, Dolakha, Banke, Panchthar and Myagdi, among others.
The photographs, while not actually stellar examples of the photographers' skills, touch upon many topics. This purpose of the competition is evidently being met if one looks at the submissions.
One photograph tells the important issue of missing persons through a staged sitting in Dhanusha while another shows the incompetency of the government officials which leaves many people listlessly waiting for the service. Another photo is of a forlorn looking spider web covered suggestions box at the Koshi Zonal Hospital in Biratnagar. In a shining example of government efficiency and responsibility, there is a waiting room dedicated to the disabled, elderly, and children at the District Administration Office in Panchthar.
Winner of the lucky draw Sovita Mainali from Kapilvastu took her winning photo when she was on one of her field trips to Arghakhanchi. Sovita, who works as a coordinator for a savings cooperative, takes many pictures during such field trips and says they never come to light.
"This contest was a great opportunity to showcase my photo. I came across this dilapidated building in Dhikura VDC. The building was the VDC office but it was in such a sorry state. After talking to the locals, I found out that it never got around to being maintained due to the lack of budget and also because it failed to come to the notice of the ever changing VDC secretaries," she says.
The contest has now ingrained in her the quality to think beyond just identifying the problem. She adds, "But I think rather than the lack of budget, the problem is the management. There are many well functioning cooperatives in the village and it is also their responsibility to do something. We can't always wait for the government. Winning this contest has encouraged me to organize a discussion with the cooperatives and the villagers the next time I go to Dhikura. I should at least try to remind them of their duties."
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