Franco-German Photo Contest
The Franco-German Photo Contest is a project of the German National Association for Student Services (DSW) and its French counterpart, the Centre national des œuvres universitaires et scolaires (CNOUS) in cooperation with the Franco-German Youth Office (DFJW).
Every year since 2015, students from France and Germany have been invited to submit their photographs on a specific predefined theme. A binational jury decides on the winners and puts together a small traveling exhibition that then goes on tour through German and French university towns.
The tenth Franco-German photo competition, a project of the DSW and Cnous, sponsored by the DFJW, is currently announcing the interesting theme "PEACE".
You can win the following prizes:
- 1st prize: 1000,- Euro
- 2nd second prize: 750,- Euro
- 3rd Franco-German Friendship Prize for a particularly successful commitment
to Franco-German friendship: 500 Euro
→ Registration deadline is 12/05/2025
Please register to take part in the photo competition directly via the website at
GERMAN-FRENCH PHOTO COMPETITION (concours-competition.eu)
The Franco-German jury consists of representatives of the Cnous, the DSW, the financial support organization DFJW and former award winners, artists or photographers. The jury selects the exhibited works and the award winners based on the following criteria
- Relevance of the photographic work to the topic
- Creative thematic treatment of the topic
- Overcoming clichés, ingrained ways of thinking and prejudices
- Technical quality of the photograph
The results of the jury meeting will be announced at the end of June 2025.
Conditions of participation
- The photo competition is open to all students of legal age enrolled at a German or French university
- Digital black and white and color photos in JPG format (*.jpg) with a minimum resolution of 2362px X 3544px and a minimum size of 3 MB can be submitted
- The quality of the image material should be sufficient for the exhibition (print format 30x40 cm)
- The photos must be taken personally by the participants, AI-generated photos are excluded from participations
- Only one photo per participant can be submitted
A traveling exhibition and the digital exhibition with the best photos of the competition (max. 25 photos) will be presented in the Associations for Student Affairs in Germany and the Crous in France in 2025/2026.
Data protection regulations
The personal data collected as part of the competition will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act. In the application of this law, participants have a right of access, rectification, modification and deletion of data concerning them personally.
The ninth Franco-German photo competition, a project of the DSW and Cnous, sponsored by the DFJW, focused on the theme “MY SPACE”. Students from all disciplines in France and Germany were invited and asked to capture this theme in photos, both visually and in terms of content.
Students from both countries submitted their photos via the project website www.concours-wettbewerb.eu by March 30, 2023.
A binational jury selected the exhibited works and the winners:
The I. PRIZE (1.000€): Paul Winning: comfortable uncomfortable | RheinMain University of Applied Sciences/Studierendenwerk Frankfurt am Main
The II. PRIZE (500€): Badr Lekhnati: We have rights | Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis/Crous de Créteil
Special recognition for Franco-German friendship goes to Julius Heide: Zuhause ist ein räumliches Gefühlskonstrukt (Gemeinsames Konzept für das Motiv/Concept commun pour le motif - Julius Heide, Luisa Josefine Schmitz, Veith Elsper, Emilia Popp, Paula Bönte, Sarah Hornemann)
A further 21 selected photos will be presented in a traveling exhibition in 2025/26 in the participating student unions and in the French Crous.
The links to the digital exhibition with 24 best photos of the competition as well as to the curated image gallery can be found in our sideboard on the right.
The eighth Franco-German photo competition, a project of the DSW and Cnous, sponsored by the DFJW , focused on the theme of "FREEDOM". Students of all disciplines from France and Germany were invited and asked to capture this theme in photos, both visually and in terms of content.
Students from both countries submitted their photos via the project website https://www.concours-wettbewerb.eu
by March 30, 2023.
A binational jury selected the exhibited works and the winners:
The I. PRIZE (1.000€): Vincent Lecoq: Dear God, make me a bird so that I can fly far away from here | Mon Dieu, fais de moi un oiseau pour que je puisse voler loin d'ici; Crous de Grenoble-Alpes
The II PRIZE (500€): Yuliia Pozniak: Dancing Woman; Studentenwerk Leipzig
Special recognition for Franco-German friendship goes to Nathan Montaclair: Freiheit in der untergehenden Sonne | La liberté au soleil couchant; Crous de Paris
A further 21 selected photos will be presented in a traveling exhibition in 2023/24 in the participating student unions and in the French Crous.
At the Studierendenwerk Freiburg (SWFR), the exhibition ran until 12.01.2024.
You can find the links to the digital exhibition with 24 best photos of the competition as well as to the curated image gallery in our sideboard on the right.
The German-French photo competition is already taking place for the 7th time. It is a project of the DSW and Cnous, carried out by the Studierendenwerke and Crous and sponsored by the DFJW.
Students of all disciplines from Germany and France are now invited to submit their photo works on the topic of "Solidarity" here.
The deadline for entries is 6 April 2022.
A German-French jury will award the following prizes:
First prize: 1000,- Euro
Second prize: 500 euros
Franco-German Friendship Prize (without prize money) for a particularly successful commitment to Franco-German friendship
The max. 25 best photos of the competition will be shown in an exhibition in the student unions in Germany and the Crous in France in 2022/23.
For the sixth time, students from Germany and France were invited to participate in the Franco-German photo competition.
The competition is a joint initiative of the DSW and the French partner institution Cnous and is organized with kind DFJW support. The project is carried out by the Student Services and the French Crous.
The aim of the project is to offer students an opportunity to participate in an international and artistic initiative and to focus their attention on the importance of the Franco-German partnership.
Students from both countries could submit their photos via the project's website: www.concours-wettbewerb.eu until April 16, 2021.
Since 2015, this contest is organized from the German Student Service Center in cooperation with the French Student Service Centers "Crous" and supported from the Franco-German Youth Foundation.
Everyone studying at a university in the area of one of the participating Student Service Centers and "Crous" can participate.
Every year this Photography Contest has a different theme. Every photo is reviewed and graded through an independent, regional jury.
The best and most interesting photos will then be reviewed from a binational jury, which is naming two finalists.
This year's theme is "Mobility".
The necessities for the application and the application form can be found in the download area in the right.
In the winter term 2018/19 the forth Franco-German Photography Contest took place. Students from France and Germany were invited to apply with there "Engagement" photos. A binational jury chose the two winning pictures from countless applications.
I. Price: Lina Sommer, STW Würzburg: Winterdienst / Service d’hiver - 1.000 €
II. Price: Magalie Herter-Courbon, STW Würzburg: Der Halt / L’appui - 500 €
III. Special honors for Franco-German friendship: Julie Tabary, Crous Poitiers: Un amour consommée / Konsumierte Liebe
Criteria: Originality, technical handling, photo editing, visuals
In the winter term 2017/18 the third Franco-German Photography Contest took place. Students from France and Germany were invited to apply with their "Openness" photos. A binational jury chose the two winning pictures from countless applications.
1. Price (1000€): « Berlin Est (2013) » (Ostberlin 2013): Thaddeus Christandl (Crous de Créteil)
2. Price (shared): 250 € « Through the world»: Stéphanie Bichut (Crous d’Amiens) und 250 € « Renaissance de l’ouverture d’esprit »: Nina Nordheim (Crous de Lyon)
Mention spéciale: «Talk»: Christoph Hellerich (Studierendenwerk Freiburg)
The binational jury also chose 21 pictures to be exhibitioned on a road show in 2018/19.
In the winter term 2016/17 the second Franco-German Photography Contest took place. Students from France and Germany were invited to apply with their "Contacts" photos. A binational jury chose two winning pictures from countless applications.
1. Price 2017: Emmanuel MILLET-DELPECH (Crous Montpellier) « Envoûtant » (Betörend)
2. Price 2017: Jan-Robert WEIST (Studierendenwerk Vorderpfalz) « Rhein-e- Liebe » (Amour du Rhin / Vrai Amour)
More chosen pictures were exhibitioned on a road show at the Student Service Centers and Crous
Im Wintersemester 2015/16 fand der erste deutsch-französische Fotowettbewerb statt. Studierende aus Frankreich und Deutschland wurden dazu aufgerufen, ihre Fotos zum Thema "Tandem" einzusenden. Eine binationale Jury wählte aus zahlreichen Einsendungen zwei Gewinnerfotos.
Den 1. Preis, 1.000 Euro, erhält Anita Straub, Studentin aus der Vorderpfalz mit ihrem Foto "Gabelkreuzung". Hanno Müller, Student aus Freiburg, erhält den 2. Preis, 500 Euro, für "Mit Händen und Füßen".
Eine Auswahl der eingesendeten Fotografien wird ab 17. Juni im Bistro der Mensa Rempartstraße zu sehen sein. Hier findet am 17. Juni 2016 um 18.30 Uhr die Vernissage inklusive Preisverleihung statt.