On October 3, 2013, an exhibition of the results from the photo competition “Me and My Community: Jewish Community Through the Eyes of Youth” opened at the exhibition hall of the Almaty chesed. Its opening was timed to the beginning of the II International Jewish Youth Forum.

The exhibition was opened by the Chairman of the Mitzvah Association of Jewish Communities of Kazakhstan Council, EAJC Presidium member Alexander Baron.

Professional and amateur photographers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Russia, and Israel participated. Jewish communities of Bishkek, Odesa, Kharkiv, Moskva, St. Petersburg, Omsk, Izhevsk, Orenburg, Natania, Astana, Almaty, Pavlodar, and other cities were represented at the competition. 80 authors applied with 208 photographs, the best of which were selected for the exhibition.

There are three age categories for the participants: 7-12 years, 13-17, 18 and up. Each age category has one first-place prize, two second-place prized, and three third-place prizes. The winners will be awarded on October 6, when the Youth Forum closes.

The first international photo competition “Me and My Community: Jewish Community Through the Eyes of Youth” took place in November 2012. 223 photos from 54 authors had been accepted into the competition, of which jury members selected 90 for the exhibition. Winning photographers hailed from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Russia.