INTRODUCTION
Xiaomi, in partnership with the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), invites photography enthusiasts across the region to take part in an exciting six-month Instagram photography contest. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or a passionate creator, this is your opportunity to showcase your talent, share your unique perspective and compete for recognition through the power of photography.
WHAT WE CARRY
A worn-out keychain.
A photograph tucked inside a wallet.
An object carried from home to home.
What we carry may seem ordinary, but they often hold stories that go far beyond what we see.
For the second edition of Gulf Unposed, HIPA and Xiaomi invite Gulf photographers to capture What We Carry: the meaningful objects people keep close and the personal stories behind them.
This edition is dedicated to mobile photography.
Capture your frame using a phone of any brand. Participation is open to all citizens and residents of the GCC.
How To Participate
- mobile photography This is a mobile photography contest, and participants must register for the contest through this link - click here.
- Submission Capture a photo related to the theme. Post the photo to your public Instagram account.
- Hashtags Use the hashtag #GulfUnposed_WhatWeCarry and #Xiaomi_HIPA.
- MentionsTag @xiaomi.gcc , @xiaomi.ksa and @hipaae.
- Important Only one photo submission is allowed per participant.
- Submission Deadline The last day of participation will be on 21st July 2026, 11:59 PM (UAE Standard Time)
WHAT WE CARRY
Rules
Please read these rules (the Rules) before submitting your photo(s) to Gulf Unposed | 2nd Edition ‘WHAT WE CARRY’ (the Competition). By participating in the Competition, you (You/ Your/ the Participant) understand, acknowledge and fully, irrevocably and unconditionally agree to abide and be bound by the following Rules:
- This contest is open for submission via Instagram only. Participants must also register to enter the contest through this link - click here.
- Participation is open to all residents and citizens of the GCC: UAE, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
- Participants must be at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entering the competition.
- Participants must submit an original photograph captured using a mobile phone of any brand.
- Submissions will be accepted from 8th July 2026 until 11:59 PM on 21st July 2026 (UAE Standard Time - GMT +04:00). No entries posted after closing time will be accepted.
- Participants can only submit one photo. Additional submissions may result in disqualification.
- The submitted photo must have an original file in RAW or JPEG format, with high quality and resolution, of a minimum 2 MB size (Raw files are NOT required at the time of submission).
- The submitted photo must not contain any tag(s), signature(s), initial(s), frame, border(s), logo(s), or any other references and/or marks added by the participant.
- HIPA and Xiaomi reserve the right to assess and discard from the competition any submitted photo deemed contrary to the foregoing.
- Photos that portray or otherwise include inappropriate and/or offensive content, including nudity, violence, and/or any other content deemed to be contrary to the UAE's religious, cultural, and/or public moral traditions and practices, will be disqualified.
- Upon reaching the final stage of judging, you grant HIPA and Xiaomi, a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty free, sub-licensable right and license to use, publish, reproduce, display, perform, adapt, modify, create derivative works, distribute, have distributed, print, promote your submitted photo(s), in whole or in part, in any form, in all media forms now or hereafter known, anywhere in the world for any purpose, related to the contest, the publication in and HIPA and Xiaomi promotional digital and/or printed materials and formats broadcast such as on magazines, printed leaflet and brochures, website and/or through other public online feeds, promoting subsequent contests and/or the work of HIPA and Xiaomi generally.