350 Photos = 350 Postcards = 350 World Leaders

Submit to POSTCARDS FROM THE FRONTLINE TODAY! ends 4th October

In the battle against global warming, the Maldives is at the frontline. With an average height on 1.5m we are the flattest country on earth. The UN Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change predictions suggest that the Maldives will be facing a catastrophe of immense proportions by the end of the century if global warming continues at the rate that it is currently increasing. We will undoubtedly be one of the first and hardest hit by rising waters; our eventual fate - that of environmental refugees.
On October 24th, 2009, millions of people around the world will take action to spread the number 350, the safe level of CO2 in the atmosphere measured in parts per million, and make sure the world leaders are on the course to reach that target.
As Maldivians, we believe it is our responsibility to get our voices heard on a global scale and in turn make sure that the world is aware of our plight.
Postcards from the Frontline will give Maldivians this voice.

350 unique photographs of life from people at the very forefront of this battle. They will depict more than the usual ‘wish you were here’ tourism clichés that currently dominate the worlds vision of Maldives. These photos aim to show the world instead honest images of life in the Maldives. Real experiences, real challenges, real stories of life in our low lying islands.
We request ALL MALDIVIANS, young and old, to submit photos for the cause. Entries do not need to fit into a conventional photographic category. It can be absolutely anything that reflects what the Maldives is to you:
The view from your bedroom window. Three patterened burugas sitting side by side on a bench at the artificial beach. The sun -setting over Male’s rooftops. The silver bodies of the fish lined at the Mas maarukeytu. Nimble hands twisting rope. Hikkan alhaafa huri kula kulaige hedhunthah.Your little sister’s smile. The ripple of water on calm seas. The fothi fihaara. A mundu, a golhi jehi gamees, and a koari.. Kites over dharubaarugey fahaiy. Voshufilaas in the sun. Thoshigandu mathee thibi loabiverih.

You know all this because you are Maldivian. Now it is time the world knew too.
The point is to accommodate a wide variety of images that portray the reality of life in the Maldives, as perceived and decided by you. This is a chance to move beyond the usual, the typical, the constructed. It is a chance to show a global audience the authenticity in your Maldives the way you see it.
350 photos you send will be then made into postcards, and sent to 350 world leaders with a very special appeal. These world leaders will decide the fate of Maldives, and the world, at the crucial UN Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009 (COP15) this December.

Your photo can save our home. And you needn’t even be a professional photographer. Being Maldivian is all that you need to be.

For more information and to submit your photos, please visit:

www.350postcards.com and www.350postcards.com/submit
For more information on the worldwide 350 initiative:

www.350.com
Do your part to spread the word by linking back or pasting this on your own blog!