The competition will run from the end of May to 30 July 2018. Submissions will be made using smartphones – technology at hand that is part of young people’s everyday lives. The winning submissions will be exhibited in a final exhibition at Mac Birmingham in September.

As part of the competition, Green Lens will offer free workshops across the city in June and July with two of Birmingham’s leading photographers, Kate Green and Andrew Jackson, allowing participants to learn new skills from well-respected professionals. The workshops will give an introduction to how photography has been used by others as activism and practical tips on how to make the most out of taking snaps or videos on their smartphones. Green Lens will also work with the Deaf Cultural Centre, encouraging young people from the D/deaf community to contribute to the project.

Green Lens will allow ecobirmingham to develop and build their engagement with young people, exploring and understanding what issues are important to them, and focus future work across the city.

Michael Addison, Director of ecobirmingham said: “This is an amazing opportunity for ecobirmingham to hear the opinions of the young people of the Birmingham; to turn those into exciting new projects and to help us advocate for a cleaner, fairer, greener and more sustainable future for the city.

“Topics such as air pollution, food waste, plastic waste and access to nature are inherent issues for the city and the people who live here are the ones who suffer most. This partnership project with Ampersand Projects will provide an artistic platform for young people to shape and influence the world they want to live in.”