Competition Background

As some of you may know, 2007 is the Scottish Year of Highland Culture, a twelve month celebration of the best of the region's arts, environment, heritage, language, science and sport. There is a packed programme of official events and activities, and a growing number of fringe events in the Highlands and Islands.

Distance Lab and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) are running a major digital photography competition throughout the year, looking for photographers to record the very best photographs featuring "distance" within the contemporary Highlands and Islands.

What is Distance Lab?

Distance Lab is a new digital media research institute whose mission is to invent new technologies and experiences that challenge the way we think about distance and help overcome its disadvantages in learning, health care, relationships, culture and other domains.

Inspired by the culture of the MIT Media Lab, Distance Lab is developing an interdisciplinary work environment full of creative engineers, designers, and artists from all over the world. Unlike typical academic groups, the Lab places emphasis on building working prototypes and demonstrations and channeling these into new products and services in the global marketplace.

Distance Lab was launched in January 2007 in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland with its first office at Horizon Scotland in Forres. It is expected that additional activity will develop in other parts of the Highlands and Islands and beyond over the coming months.

What is HIE?

HIE is the Scottish Government's economic and social development Agency for the North and West of Scotland, a region with half the landmass of Scotland, including 90 inhabited islands but less than 10% of the population.