The 30th Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award is organized by Médicos del Mundo Spain to recognize and promote documentary and photojournalistic work that exposes inequalities, injustice, human rights abuses, and efforts to address them. The award commemorates photographer and humanitarian worker Luis Valtueña alongside Médicos del Mundo colleagues Flors Sirera, Manuel Madrazo, and Mercedes Navarro, who were killed while assisting civilians affected by armed conflict.
The 2026 competition invites photographic series telling stories connected with health, humanitarian action, international cooperation, emergencies, social exclusion, migration, refugees, armed conflict, inequality, or human rights violations. Particular consideration is given to stories that are rarely highlighted or receive limited public attention.
An international jury of photography and humanitarian professionals, together with representatives of Médicos del Mundo, evaluates photographic quality, the relevance of the story, ethical practice, and the work’s ability to raise awareness. Through its catalogue and travelling exhibition programme, the award supports photography committed to human dignity, the defence of rights, and social transformation.
Entry fee: Free to enter; each participant may submit one photographic series containing 5–10 images.
Eligibility
Open to adult professional and non-professional photographers of any nationality and collectives of two or more members working in documentary photography or photojournalism; entries must be original personal work, at least 50% of the series must have been produced during 2025–2026, previously submitted series are excluded, only single-frame photographs are accepted, documentary content may not be altered, and wholly or partly AI-generated images or AI-added elements are prohibited, while Médicos del Mundo Spain staff, their first-degree relatives, jury members, and people directly involved in organizing the competition are ineligible.
Prize
The four main awards provide a total gross prize fund of €12,000: €6,000 for the First Prize and overall winner, plus €2,000 each for the Second, Third, and Fourth Prizes. A separate €1,500 Special Prize from the San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival recognizes one photograph selected from the four winning series, which will become the official image of the festival’s 2027 edition. The four winning series will be published in the official catalogue and included in a travelling exhibition presented at photography festivals, galleries, and cultural centres across Spain, including the Asturias International Photojournalism Festival; the organizer will also cover travel and two consecutive nights of accommodation for selected entrants attending the award ceremony and exhibition opening.
