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My greatest career achievement to date

Last November 2013, I accomplished my greatest career achievement to date: a “Highly Commended” citation for my photo at the 2013 World Responsible Tourism Awards. The photo was taken on Earth Day 2013 while the staff and a guest from El Nido Resorts were cleaning up Dilumacad Beach in El Nido. It’s one of my favorite photos and I’m grateful to ResponsibleTravel.com, World Travel Market, and the International Centre for Responsible Tourism for recognizing my work.

RTA 2013 announcement poster

The awards organizers encouraged me to attend the awarding ceremony during World Travel Market in London but since they weren’t sponsoring the trip, I chose not to go. Too expensive and I wasn’t even sure I was going to win. Ah well. The live stream of the awards ceremony wasn’t working for me so I found out about the “Highly Commended” citation via the live tweets. Because of the time difference, this meant staying up until 4am to wait for the announcements.

rt awards

The certificate arrived in the mail yesterday and it is glorious. I’m going to frame it.

awards certificate_edited

I’ve had my photographs published before but this was my first time to win (of sorts) in an international photo competition. The fact that it was during the World Responsible Tourism Awards made it even sweeter, as responsible tourism is a cause very near and dear to my heart. I hope my photo gives a glimpse of what tourism could look like if all the stakeholders involved commit to responsible tourism. Responsible tourism is not about today, but tomorrow.

 

Note: This is a Back Blog AKA something I wrote way after the fact then backdated to place it in its proper spot in the calendar. This post was actually written in April 2014.

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I’m shortlisted for the World Responsible Tourism Awards!

The title says it all: I’ve been shortlisted for the World Responsible Tourism Awards for the category Best Photography for Responsible Tourism! The organizers officially emailed me about it last September 18 – I read the email at 1am as the 17th was my birthday – but the official press release came just a few days ago.

shortlist

*deep breath*
AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As someone who’s been working in the responsible tourism industry for the past six years, this is definitely one of the Top 10 Most Exciting Things to Ever Happen to Me. It’s not #1 – I’m reserving that spot for when I get my master’s diploma – but it’s pretty damn close. I don’t even have to win (but of course it’ll be awesome if I did!) as being shortlisted is already an honor.

This is the photo that was shortlisted:

beach cleanup Macy Anonuevo

This photo was taken last April 22, 2013 during the Earth Day beach cleanup in Dilumacad Island, El Nido, Palawan. The guy on the left is Zandy, while Kuya Jovenly is the one on the right. They’re Marine Sports Guides of El Nido Resorts and they, along with other resort staff, volunteered to clean up El Nido’s beaches during their off-duty hours. That’s some serious love right there. The bags contain trash that was either left on the beach by irresponsible tourists or that washed ashore.

I was invited to attend the awards ceremony to be held during the World Travel Mart on November 6 in London but alas, I won’t be able to go as I’ll have to pay my own way (or as Filipinos like to call it, KKB or “kanya-kanyang bayad”). Ah well. They’ll be live streaming the event so at least I can still watch. Wish me luck!