12/05/2023
Austrian photographer Lisi Niesner won Grand Jury Award of inaugural Women in Sports International Photo Awards
Taipei, Taiwan | Berlin-based photographer Lisi Niesner (Austria) was announced the winner of the Grand Jury Award of the inaugural Women in Sports International Award, organized by Women in Sports Media Platform and Taiwan Sport Forward Association. Bruce Bennett (USA) won first place in the International Professional Division while Silvia Casali (Italy) took second place and Adam Pretty (Australia) won third place.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen delivered the remarks and presented the awards to Grand Jury Award and International Professional Division winners. Niesner’s award was accepted by Lynn Cameron, the official photographer of England Lionesses, and the jury member of the awards. President Tsai commended the association for the efforts in promoting gender equality in sports and praised the photos in the competition for “raising the visibility” of female athletes and journalists, “especially when the exposure to women’s sports is low and female sports photographers remain a minority.” President Tsai further stated that “Taiwan will continue to promote gender equality in sports and other fields in the country and the international community.”
The Women in Sports International Photo Awards was created to promote and recognize outstanding female photographers in addition to promoting gender equality in sports. The Award is the first international women in sports competition in the world and recognizes the best sports photographers by presenting the Grand Jury Award to a female photographer.
American Institute in Taiwan acting director Jeremy Cornforth was invited to speak and to present the awards to the domestic division winners in the ceremony. Staff photographer from Taiwan’s United Daily News Group Yu Cheng-Han won the first place in the domestic division, while freelance photographer Wang Chien-Yu took second place and amateur photographer Wu Zao-De won the third place. In Mr. Cornforth’s remarks he pointed out that sports can also be “a platform to champion other foreign policy, including diversity, equality, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA).”
To raise awareness of gender equality in sports among the younger generation, an academic division was set up for college students to participate in. Lee Chia-Jui from National Taiwan Sport University won the first place in this division, while Chen Ji-Wei from National Taiwan Sport University won the second place, and Liang Chia-Rou from National Cheng-Chi University won the third place in the academic division.
According to the hosting organization, the awards, with a total prize money of USD 20,000, received more than 1,300 entries from 52 countries in all five continents. Award convener Richard Wang stated that “49.7% of all participants are female photographers, and in the academic division more than 70% of the participants are women.” The Awards Jury is led by Anthony Edgar (Australia), former head of media operations of International Olympic Committee, with 2021 IOC Women and Sports Award recipient Tracey Holmes (Australia), England Lionesses official photographer Lynn Cameron (UK), sports and picture editor at Flipboard Steve Fine (USA), and two-time Olympic gold medalist Ann Chen (Taiwan).
The award ceremony also served as the opening segment of the “Sports Diplomacy: Taiwan-USA Collaboration on Building the Asia-Pacific Gender Equality in Sports Exchange Program.” The event, organized by Po-Chun Sophiyah Liu’s Taiwan Sport Forward Association, was supported by the United States Department of State’s Global Sports Mentoring Program, U.S. Ambassador to Belize Michelle Kwan, who appeared in a pre-recorded congratulatory video.
Here is the full list of the Photo Award winners:
Grand Jury Award: Lisi Niesner, Austria (Reuters)
Jury Awards – International Professional Division
1st Place: Bruce Bennett, USA (Getty Images)
2nd Place: Silvia Casali, Italy
3rd Place: Adam Pretty, Australia (Getty Images)
Jury Awards – Domestic Division
1st Place: Yu Cheng-Han, Taipei City (United Daily News Group)
2nd Place: Wang Chien-Yu, Yunlin County (Freelance)
3rd Place: Wu Zao-De, Keelung City (Amateur)
Jury Awards – Academic Division
1st Place: Lee Chia-Jui, National Taiwan Sport University
2nd Place: Chen JI-Wei, National Taiwan Sport University
3rd Place: Liang Chia-Rou, National Cheng-Chi University
