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CECI 2026 Photo Contest
September 8, 2026Each year, CECI’s photo contest showcases images that highlight the initiatives, partnerships, and people at the heart of our mission. Thank you to everyone who entered the photo contest and voted. Take a look at the finalist photos that showcase our projects, our partners, and the communities with which CECI collaborates around the world.
The Winning Photos
The three photos that received the most votes.
Stitch by Stitch, Shaping their Future
📍 Rwanda
📷 Photo credit: Jeremy Hughes
After being forced to interrupt her studies—primarily due to financial difficulties and limited access to menstrual products—this young woman is now participating in an initiative led by CECI in Rwanda. Together with other participants, she produces reusable sanitary pads while developing entrepreneurial skills. This initiative allows her to generate income and helps develop a local solution that combines menstrual health, women’s economic empowerment, and environmental protection.
In his Hands, the Fruit of his Labor
📍 Haiti
📷 Photo credit: Edver Serisier
Joseph Marius proudly holds the bean pods from his harvest. As a participant in the Agriculture for Food Security Project (PARSA) in Haiti, he is among the farmers adopting more sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural practices to improve and diversify their production. His smile reflects the satisfaction of a successful harvest, but also what it represents: the fruit of his expertise and a more resilient form of agriculture that helps to strengthen food security in a sustainable way.
Where Voices Become Power
📍 Guatemala
📷 Photo credit: Laboratorio DAO
In Quetzaltenango, this circle marks a significant step forward: the creation of a Political School for Maya Women. Established by the Asociación CDRO with support from CECI as part of the Volunteer Cooperation Program, the School provides a space for training, exchange, and action where participants strengthen their leadership, their voices, and their political participation. This initiative helps open decision-making spaces further to Maya women and strengthen their ability to drive change in their communities.
The Finalist Photos
Check out the other finalist photos from the CECI 2026 Photo Contest.
Sowing Together, Growing Together
📍 Rwanda
📷 Photo credit: Jeremy Hughes
As part of the Women Entrepreneurs in Solidarity project, this coffee producer proudly shares the results of her harvest. Behind the beans currently drying lies a business she is building and growing. The project promotes exchanges and the sharing of expertise among women entrepreneurs from different countries to strengthen their skills, networks, and businesses. Her smile here reflects her satisfaction with the work accomplished and her ambition to continue growing her business.
When Women Take their Place
📍 Haiti
📷 Photo credit: Edver Serisier
By speaking out in her community, this participant is helping to change perceptions about gender equality and women’s role in local decision-making. Through the Koridò Vèt project, women are strengthening their leadership and contributing to the development of nature-based solutions to climate change. Her commitment illustrates a broader transformation: women making their voices heard and taking full part in the decisions that shape their community.
On the Path to Shea
📍 Benin
📷 Photo credit: Rodrigue OLYMPIO
Returning from the harvest, this producer is transporting shea nuts that fuel a value chain driven largely by the work and expertise of women. From collection to processing, their participation helps create economic opportunities within their community. By strengthening their skills, their access to resources, and their role in value chains, CECI helps turn these supply chains into drivers of economic empowerment for women.
A Taste of Possibilities
📍 Benin
📷 Photo credit: Florence Paradis
In Ouidah, these salt-farmers are developing new skills to diversify their activities beyond salt production and sales. Following a soap-making training session organized by ACTION Plus NGO as part of the Socio-Ecological Resilience of Mangroves in Benin project, they are working together to explore new sources of income. This diversification strengthens their economic empowerment while contributing to the resilience of communities that depend on mangrove ecosystems.
Laughter from the Roots
📍 Guatemala
📷 Photo credit: Mélina Nantel
Portrait of Doña Julia, a founding member of Qachuu Aloom (“Mother Earth”), a CECI partner organization in Guatemala that promotes agroecology and food sovereignty from a gender equity perspective. Photo taken as part of a CECI volunteer cooperation project, following a moving interview about the violence she experienced during the internal armed conflict. Despite her initial shyness, Doña Julia eventually laughed heartily, a rare and precious smile that speaks to her resilience and that of the Achi Maya women.
Two Generations, One Legacy
📍 Bolivia
📷 Photo credit: Evelyne Forte
A young mother and her baby leave their handprints beneath these words: “Juntas hacemos la diferencia”—together, we make a difference. This gesture brings to a close the forum “Territorios que Avanzan hacia la Igualdad,” a space for dialogue and action focused on violence prevention, women’s economic empowerment, care work, and inclusion. Two generations united in a single handprint, for equality that is being built today and passed on tomorrow.
Those Who March for Tomorrow
📍 Bolivia
📷 Photo credit: Marie-Michelle Veillette
Wearing a purple bandana tied with pride, this teenager marches through the streets of Santa Cruz on March 8, alongside thousands of people mobilized for women’s rights. Among them, the team from Casa de la Mujer—a CECI partner organization under the Volunteer Cooperation Program—voices its demands for equality and justice. Their presence also signals a rising generation: a new generation that is speaking out, occupying public spaces, and advancing women’s rights.
The Garden that Nourishes a Community
📍 Mali
📷 Photo credit: Seydou Sanago
In this community garden supported by the FIERES project in Mali, the harvests yield much more than just vegetables. They contribute to the meals served in school cafeterias, while the sale of surplus produce generates income for the women who tend the garden. By strengthening both their economic empowerment and the conditions that support their children’s education, this initiative exemplifies FIERES’ approach: mobilizing an entire community to advance girls’ right to education.
Fatoumata, an Inspiring Mentor
📍 Mali
📷 Photo credit: Seydou Sanago
Fatoumata works with teenage girls in her community to help them better understand their rights, build their self-confidence, and make informed choices about their future.
In the “safe spaces” she facilitates, participants can freely discuss topics related to their health, well-being, and educational journey. Her commitment helps empower them and strengthens their ability to act.
“In our safe spaces, the girls know they can speak their minds without fear. By teaching them about their health, their bodies, and their rights, I help them gain confidence and make informed choices about their future.”
In Charge of Her Own Plot
📍Senegal
📷 Photo credit: Bourre NDIAYE
In Fadiga, Binta Camara cultivates her own plot within the vegetable-growing area supported by the project. That morning, she tended to the seedlings that would contribute to her future harvest. Behind this daily task lies a greater opportunity: to develop an agricultural enterprise, strengthen her livelihood, and contribute to her community’s resilience in the face of climate change. Photographed during Climate Camp 2026 in Kédougou, Binta embodies a transition driven by the very people who are bringing it to life.
The Force That Nourishes the Earth
📍Senegal
📷 Photo credit: Bourre NDIAYE
In Fadiga, Florence Camara and her two cousins, beneficiaries of the project, are participating in a reforestation activity in the Thiobo vegetable-growing area. Busy transporting compost from the reservoir built with the help of Anta Barry, a volunteer and agriculture specialist, they are helping to enrich the soil and support the growth of new shrubs. Photographed during Climate Camp 2026 in Kédougou, this scene illustrates women’s commitment to local solutions that strengthen their community’s agricultural and environmental resilience.
