• Entry is free. No purchase is necessary.
• Photos must relate to Ottawa’s Chinatown and must be submitted through the official Chinatown BIA submission form.
• Contemporary, historical and Then & Now photos are welcome. Historical Chinatown photos are generally those taken before 2010.
• Each person may submit up to five photos per month for contest consideration.
• All submissions are reviewed before publication. Submission does not guarantee that a photo will be published, shortlisted or awarded.
• Entrants under 18 must have permission from a parent or legal guardian.

• Each month, the BIA may shortlist eligible submissions as finalists for the Monthly Public Choice Award. Publication in the website gallery does not automatically guarantee selection as a finalist.
• Finalists may be promoted through the Ottawa Chinatown BIA website, Instagram and other social media channels. Public voting will take place through the official Chinatown Through Your Lens voting page.
• Up to three Public Choice winners may be selected each month, with a prize of $50 CAD per winning photo.
• Each person may cast one ballot per monthly voting round. A ballot may allow voters to select more than one finalist if specified on the voting page.
• Social media likes, comments, shares and follower counts do not determine the monthly winners.
• The BIA may use reasonable technical measures to protect voting integrity, including anti-bot verification, rate limits, duplicate-vote detection and, where necessary, email verification.
• Votes reasonably believed to be automated, duplicated, purchased, manipulated or otherwise unfair may be excluded. The BIA may review unusual voting patterns before confirming results.
• If there are too few eligible submissions, insufficient-quality finalists or significant voting-integrity concerns, the BIA may reduce the number of monthly winners, extend the voting period or defer the award.

Ottawa Chinatown BIA may promote the contest through Instagram and other platforms, but public voting is administered through the official Ottawa Chinatown BIA website. This promotion is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram.

• At the end of each quarter, the BIA may select up to three Editors’ Choice winners.
• Each winning photo receives a $100 CAD prize.
• Judging may consider visual quality, originality, storytelling, cultural relevance and how well the image reflects Ottawa’s Chinatown.
• Public voting and social media popularity do not determine the Editors’ Choice awards.
• The BIA may award fewer than three prizes if the number or quality of eligible submissions is insufficient.

• All eligible photos submitted during the year may be considered, whether or not they previously won a monthly or quarterly award.
• 1st Prize: $500 CAD
• 2nd Prize: $300 CAD
• 3rd Prize: $200 CAD
• Annual winners are selected by the BIA or a judging panel appointed by the BIA.

• The photographer retains copyright in the submitted photo unless otherwise stated.
• By submitting a photo for publication, the contributor confirms that they own the copyright or have sufficient permission from the copyright owner to submit it.
• The contributor grants Ottawa Chinatown BIA a non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to display selected photos on its website, social media and materials promoting this gallery and photo contest, with appropriate credit where practical.
• The contributor is responsible for obtaining any permission required from clearly identifiable people appearing in the photo, including parental or guardian permission where applicable.
• Separate permission may be requested for uses outside the normal promotion of the gallery or contest.

• Historical photos should include as much information as possible about the photographer, source, approximate date, location and story behind the image.
• If the exact date is unknown, an approximate year or time period may be provided.
• Possession of a physical or digital copy of an old photograph does not necessarily mean the contributor owns the copyright.
• If copyright or permission cannot be confirmed, the photo may be retained for review or historical research but may not be published until the necessary rights are established.

• Contact information submitted with a photo is used for submission administration, review, award notification and related communication. It is not displayed publicly unless the contributor has provided information specifically for public credit.
• Where voting-integrity tools collect limited technical information or an email address, that information is used only to administer voting, detect abuse and confirm results, and is not displayed publicly.
• Ottawa Chinatown BIA may decline or remove submissions that are unlawful, offensive, misleading, infringe third-party rights, create privacy concerns or otherwise do not meet the gallery’s standards.
• The contributor is responsible for the accuracy of the information provided with the submission.
• The BIA may make reasonable editorial changes to titles, captions or categories for clarity and consistency, while preserving the meaning of the contributor’s information.
• Prize availability, eligibility and award timing remain subject to the published contest rules and the availability of qualifying submissions.