SINGAPORE, Sept. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On the afternoon of August 17, 2025, the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Award Ceremony was held at the prestigious Inter Art Center/Gallery located in the landmark 798 Art District in Beijing. Jointly organized by the Singapore Good Soil Foundation and Inter Art Center/Gallery, the competition invited middle school to university students aged 15 to 22 from around the world to capture through photography, their perspectives on contemporary life, their dreams for the future, and their reflections on youth and growth.
Event Highlights
Click to Gallery
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
The event was co-hosted by Project Initiators Ms. Faye Lo and Mr. Na Risong. At the opening, Mr. Na, Artistic Director and Curator of Inter Art Center/Gallery, explained the intention behind launching the competition and emphasized the importance of providing a platform for young photography enthusiasts globally. Subsequently, Project Initiator Ms Faye Lo, Founder of Singapore Good Soil Foundation, and Project Co-Initiator Mr. Zack Cao also took the stage to deliver their speeches, sharing their hopes for young people to express themselves through photography and the Foundation's commitment to promoting the development of the arts for youths.
The event brought together leading figures from the worlds of photography and culture, including renowned photographers Zhu Xianmin, Wang Wenlan, He Yanguang, Xie Hailong, Ren Shulin, Guo Jianshe, Shang Junyi, Hei Ming, Zhang Xulong, Liu Li, Jia Yong, and Zhang Chunyu; Media professional Yang Lang; Professors Zhu Jiong and Jiating from the Beijing Film Academy School of Image Media and Communication; Deputy Editor-in-Chief of China Photography Journal Chai Xuan; Editor-in-Chief of ImageChina Net Cao Xu; Editorial Director of Popular Photography Li Xin; Editor-in-Chief of Photo Friend Liu Dong; China Photography editor Chen Qiushi; prominent blogger Luo Dawei; young photographer and Inter Art Center New Documentaries Prize winner Yang Wenbin; and Witnessing the Present award recipients Huang Anni, Qu Shizhe, and Cao Xuan. In addition, Liu Wenkui, Executive Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Zhang Boju, Head of the Ginkgo Foundation, Wang Dong, Director of Beijing Stars and Rain Education Institute for Autism, Zheng Yanjun, Partner of KIP Capital and Ren Tao, CEO of Beijing Zhide Lingcheng Cultural Development Co. Ltd also attended the press conference.
Global Participation
Since its launch, the competition has attracted widespread attention and enthusiastic participation from young people across China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, France, the United States, and beyond. Contestants ranged in age from 15 to 22, with the youngest participant just 15 years old.
The judging panel consisted of judges from all around the world, comprising of Mr. Edmund Clark (Renowned British video artist and Postgraduate Tutor of Journalism and Documentary Photography at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London (UAL) ), Mr. James Ramer (A Famous American Photographer, Curator and Professor at Parsons School of Design based in New York and Founding Director of the MFA Photography Program), Mr. JY (Jiang Yi) (Renowned Japanese Artist, Doctor of Physics and Representative of the Tokyo School of Painting), Ms. Faye Lo (Founder of the Singapore Good Soil Foundation) and Mr. Na Risong (Artistic Director and Curator of the Inter Art Center/Gallery).
Award Winners
After final deliberation by the five judges, the top three awards went to:
- First Prize: Traces of Light by Chen Beiting (Guilin University of Technology)
- Second Prize: Where the Light Ends by Chen Yumeng (Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts)
- Third Prize (tie): Butterfly Prison by Huang Anni (Beijing City University) and Winter Veins by Li Yuxiang (Guangxi Arts University)
Selected Award-Winning Works
The following showcase selected pieces from the winning works.
For the full showcase of winning works, please click here
Chen Beiting – Traces of Light (First Prize)
Since moving to Guilin for university, I've only been able to return home once every six months. As I grow older, memories of the past gradually resurface in my mind, but they come back in fragments. Certain scenes that once moved me continue to stir something within me. The distance of a thousand miles has made me reflect more deeply on the meaning of home and family in my life.
My photographic series Traces of Light uses memory as its vessel. I revisit places that once held those memories, seeking traces of time, layering remembered fragments over present-day scenes. In my recollections, those magical objects often glow, like little time machines guiding us against the current of time's flow, carrying us back to the hometowns of our memory.
Chen Yumeng – Where the Light Ends (Second Prize)
My visual notebook stitches together the folds of life through fractured perspectives, bringing back everyday fragments, weathered by time, into focus. Within these small, wayward stages, the disorder of objects and the poetics of living merge in a dance of entanglement. As existence itself becomes the developing fluid, each fleeting moment expands in the darkroom, branching into nebula-like roots of narrative.
Huang Anni – Butterfly Prison (Third Prize) [Tie]
I am a person with delicate emotions and strong empathy, yet also lively and cheerful by nature. Growing up immersed in Lingnan culture, however, my life has been shaped by the constant pull between tradition and modernity. In Guangdong's clan-based culture—like the sprawling roots of a towering tree—tradition permeates daily life: women's names are rarely recorded in ancestral tablets, my mother busied herself in the kitchen during festivals while men performed the rituals, and conversations about granddaughters inevitably circled back to marriage. Though my own family is relatively egalitarian, I still feel the weight of these unspoken rules during each holiday gathering. Many of my female friends continue to be shaped by such norms, often lacking self-confidence, or developing a people-pleasing disposition. Through my photography, I hope to inspire and encourage them to break free from these constraints, to build confidence, and to live beyond the limits imposed by tradition.
The creative process itself has also been a journey of self-growth. In shaping female figures within my work, I sought to convey a core idea: womanhood is not simply a gender, but a condition. It is a refusal to live under the gaze of gender, to reject objectification, and to resist the shame and expectations imposed on women's bodies today. In the age of social media, the female body has become a consumable image—what should be healthy and natural is instead distorted into a "perfect figure."
The butterfly, a creature often symbolizing rebirth and freedom, became a central motif throughout my series. Beyond being a striking visual element, it serves as a symbol carrying my deep yearning for liberation and renewal.
Li Yuxiang – Yu Hui (Third Prize)
Yu Hui is a photo series I created in 2024, documenting my nephew. Living with him day in and day out gave me the chance to observe him closely and truly get to know him.
He is a mischievous and energetic seven-year-old boy, well cared for and protected by his parents. Each day after waking, his greatest priority is to play—free of worries, free of concerns. He finds endless fascination in things I might otherwise dismiss as meaningless: a piece of cardboard, or a pile of pesticide bottles, can keep him happily engaged for hours.
From the outside, I watched him through my lens, capturing the precious qualities of childhood that shine so clearly in him. In his world there are no narrow confines, no constraints, only openness and freedom.
To know more about the Singapore Good Soil Foundation, you can follow them on :
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/nextgenprogram/
Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/@nextgenphilanthropist
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569021872399
Tiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@nextgen.program?_t=ZS-8v4w5nTX5Kq&_r=1
For further information, please reach out to contact@goodsoilfoundationsg.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
Recording Visions of Youth, Amplifying Voices | Results of the "Witnessing the Present" International Youth Photography Competition Announced
- The new Cloud Region will comprise up to three Availability Zones in Johor, connecting Malaysia to Tencent Cloud's global infrastructure network and strengthening service availability, resilience and performance for enterprises in Malaysia.
- Tencent Cloud will also collaborate with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to equip more than 1,000 digital and AI talents with industry-relevant skills over the coming years.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, today announced it will establish its first Cloud Region in Malaysia, which will comprise up to three availability zones in Johor. The investment will expand Tencent Cloud's local infrastructure presence, providing enterprises in Malaysia with the secure, resilient foundation needed for AI-powered workflows, data-heavy applications, and the delivery of digital services at scale.
The new Cloud Region in Malaysia will join Tencent Cloud International's global infrastructure network, which currently spans 66 Availability Zones across 23 regions.
"Malaysia remains a key market in Tencent Cloud's growth strategy across Asia," said Bluefin Jiannan Zhao, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Managing Director of Tencent Cloud International for Asia Pacific. "The new Cloud Region in Malaysia will serve as a critical node within our global infrastructure, enabling enterprises to scale locally, expand regionally, and accelerate their AI-driven innovation. Through this investment, we aim to deepen our support for Malaysia's digital transformation journey and contribute to the continued growth of its AI ecosystem."
The announcement was made at Tencent Cloud C-Suite Dialogue 2026, where Tencent Cloud convened top business and technology leaders to discuss the development and deployment of AI Agent solutions for enterprise use cases.
Supporting practical enterprise AI adoption
Today, with over 50% of Malaysia enterprises adopting AI[1], considerable opportunities remain to deepen and broaden its use across industries. During the event, Tencent Cloud showcased its latest AI-powered solutions, demonstrating how enterprises can move from AI experimentation to production-ready deployment.
These include Tencent WorkBuddy, an agentic AI workspace solution that turns a single prompt into a ready-to-use deliverable, handling market research, data analysis, project planning, document creation, and more by drawing on over 100 built-in skills.
Also showcased were Tencent Cloud's Agent Development Platform (ADP), which enables enterprises to design, test, and scale custom AI agents for industry-specific use cases with multi-agent collaboration and enterprise-grade security, and TokenHub, a Model-as-a-Service platform that lets enterprises access, manage, and integrate multiple large language models via a single API for greater cost and performance optimization.
Earlier this month, Tencent announced the global availability of Tencent Hy3 (Tencent Hy, formerly known as Tencent Hunyuan), its latest large model which delivers performance comparable to flagship models two to five times its size, while maintaining a practical and cost-efficient profile. Hy3 is available free worldwide through Tencent WorkBuddy until 31 August 2026 (Pacific Time), and can also be accessed via Tencent Cloud TokenHub and Tencent Design Miora, with further integrations planned across Tencent Cloud's AI-native product portfolio.
New collaborations were also announced with Boost and Genting Plantations Group to explore the integration of AI agent solutions with their workflows and service offerings.
This builds on Tencent Cloud's existing partnerships across Malaysia's financial services, telecom, payments, and enterprise sectors. For example, Ryt Bank uses Tencent Cloud Chat to power AI-driven conversational banking for over 1.5 million users, while Aye Solutions and YTL Communications use Tencent Cloud's eKYC solutions for customer verification workflows. Tencent Cloud has also brought its palm-based biometric technology to Malaysia through partners including OpenSys Technologies and SOCOE, and continues to extend its AI capabilities to more enterprises through local ecosystem partners such as Webby Group and Ramssol Group.
"As Malaysian enterprises accelerate their digital transformation, they increasingly want to deploy AI to address real business needs and create measurable value," said Nucky Fang, General Manager of Tencent Cloud International & Tencent Cloud Malaysia. "By combining local cloud infrastructure with Tencent Cloud's AI capabilities and industry expertise, we will be able to work more closely with customers and partners to develop secure, reliable and scalable solutions tailored to their evolving needs."
Developing Malaysia's digital and AI talent pipeline
Tencent Cloud also announced a collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to support AI and cloud talent development, industry certification and innovation programmes aimed at training more than 1,000 digital and AI talents in Malaysia. These include an AI and Cloud Innovation Hackathon, a Train-the-Trainer AI and Cloud Programme and the Tencent Cloud Certification Programme to provide students and educators with practical experience using industry-relevant AI technologies, to prepare them for an increasingly AI-enabled workplace.
"Malaysia's continued progress in AI will depend on our ability to connect academic learning with the skills and tools used by industry," said Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Shafry bin Mohd Rahim, Vice-Chancellor of UTM. "Through this collaboration, we look forward to giving students and educators more opportunities to build practical capabilities in cloud and AI, while contributing to a stronger national talent pipeline."
The collaboration goes beyond introducing students and educators to AI tools. It aims to equip them with the skills to use Tencent's AI Agent solutions, including WorkBuddy and Tencent Design Miora, to create AI-enabled applications and services that address real-world needs and locally relevant scenarios in Malaysia.
Together, the new Malaysia Cloud Region and Tencent Cloud's collaboration with UTM reflect its broader commitment to supporting Malaysia's AI development, from providing the infrastructure enterprises need to deploy AI securely and at scale to developing the talent required to sustain long-term innovation. Tencent Cloud will continue working with customers, partners and academic institutions to translate advances in cloud and AI into practical value for enterprises and communities across Malaysia.
About Tencent Cloud
Tencent Cloud, one of the world's leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries. Through our extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and network security. It is our constant mission to meet the needs of industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, property, retail, travel, and transportation.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, today announced it will establish its first Cloud Region in Malaysia, which will comprise up to three availability zones in Johor. The investment will expand Tencent Cloud's local infrastructure presence, providing enterprises in Malaysia with the secure, resilient foundation needed for AI-powered workflows, data-heavy applications, and the delivery of digital services at scale.
The new Cloud Region in Malaysia will join Tencent Cloud International's global infrastructure network, which currently spans 66 Availability Zones across 23 regions.
"Malaysia remains a key market in Tencent Cloud's growth strategy across Asia," said Bluefin Jiannan Zhao, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Managing Director of Tencent Cloud International for Asia Pacific. "The new Cloud Region in Malaysia will serve as a critical node within our global infrastructure, enabling enterprises to scale locally, expand regionally, and accelerate their AI-driven innovation. Through this investment, we aim to deepen our support for Malaysia's digital transformation journey and contribute to the continued growth of its AI ecosystem."
The announcement was made at Tencent Cloud C-Suite Dialogue 2026, where Tencent Cloud convened top business and technology leaders to discuss the development and deployment of AI Agent solutions for enterprise use cases.
Supporting practical enterprise AI adoption
Today, with over 50% of Malaysia enterprises adopting AI[1], considerable opportunities remain to deepen and broaden its use across industries. During the event, Tencent Cloud showcased its latest AI-powered solutions, demonstrating how enterprises can move from AI experimentation to production-ready deployment.
These include Tencent WorkBuddy, an agentic AI workspace solution that turns a single prompt into a ready-to-use deliverable, handling market research, data analysis, project planning, document creation, and more by drawing on over 100 built-in skills.
Also showcased were Tencent Cloud's Agent Development Platform (ADP), which enables enterprises to design, test, and scale custom AI agents for industry-specific use cases with multi-agent collaboration and enterprise-grade security, and TokenHub, a Model-as-a-Service platform that lets enterprises access, manage, and integrate multiple large language models via a single API for greater cost and performance optimization.
Earlier this month, Tencent announced the global availability of Tencent Hy3 (Tencent Hy, formerly known as Tencent Hunyuan), its latest large model which delivers performance comparable to flagship models two to five times its size, while maintaining a practical and cost-efficient profile. Hy3 is available free worldwide through Tencent WorkBuddy until 31 August 2026 (Pacific Time), and can also be accessed via Tencent Cloud TokenHub and Tencent Design Miora, with further integrations planned across Tencent Cloud's AI-native product portfolio.
New collaborations were also announced with Boost and Genting Plantations Group to explore the integration of AI agent solutions with their workflows and service offerings.
This builds on Tencent Cloud's existing partnerships across Malaysia's financial services, telecom, payments, and enterprise sectors. For example, Ryt Bank uses Tencent Cloud Chat to power AI-driven conversational banking for over 1.5 million users, while Aye Solutions and YTL Communications use Tencent Cloud's eKYC solutions for customer verification workflows. Tencent Cloud has also brought its palm-based biometric technology to Malaysia through partners including OpenSys Technologies and SOCOE, and continues to extend its AI capabilities to more enterprises through local ecosystem partners such as Webby Group and Ramssol Group.
"As Malaysian enterprises accelerate their digital transformation, they increasingly want to deploy AI to address real business needs and create measurable value," said Nucky Fang, General Manager of Tencent Cloud International & Tencent Cloud Malaysia. "By combining local cloud infrastructure with Tencent Cloud's AI capabilities and industry expertise, we will be able to work more closely with customers and partners to develop secure, reliable and scalable solutions tailored to their evolving needs."
Developing Malaysia's digital and AI talent pipeline
Tencent Cloud also announced a collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to support AI and cloud talent development, industry certification and innovation programmes aimed at training more than 1,000 digital and AI talents in Malaysia. These include an AI and Cloud Innovation Hackathon, a Train-the-Trainer AI and Cloud Programme and the Tencent Cloud Certification Programme to provide students and educators with practical experience using industry-relevant AI technologies, to prepare them for an increasingly AI-enabled workplace.
"Malaysia's continued progress in AI will depend on our ability to connect academic learning with the skills and tools used by industry," said Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Shafry bin Mohd Rahim, Vice-Chancellor of UTM. "Through this collaboration, we look forward to giving students and educators more opportunities to build practical capabilities in cloud and AI, while contributing to a stronger national talent pipeline."
The collaboration goes beyond introducing students and educators to AI tools. It aims to equip them with the skills to use Tencent's AI Agent solutions, including WorkBuddy and Tencent Design Miora, to create AI-enabled applications and services that address real-world needs and locally relevant scenarios in Malaysia.
Together, the new Malaysia Cloud Region and Tencent Cloud's collaboration with UTM reflect its broader commitment to supporting Malaysia's AI development, from providing the infrastructure enterprises need to deploy AI securely and at scale to developing the talent required to sustain long-term innovation. Tencent Cloud will continue working with customers, partners and academic institutions to translate advances in cloud and AI into practical value for enterprises and communities across Malaysia.
About Tencent Cloud
Tencent Cloud, one of the world's leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries. Through our extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and network security. It is our constant mission to meet the needs of industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, property, retail, travel, and transportation.
[1] https://www.uobgroup.com/asean-insights/articles/uob-business-outlook-study-2026-malaysia-h1.page
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
Tencent Cloud Deepens Commitment to Malaysia with New Cloud Region and AI Talent Development Initiatives
