Over its four editions, the contest has continued to grow in both scale and quality. The 2026 edition attracted nearly 16,000 entries from 4,221 authors representing all 34 provinces and cities nationwide, an increase of more than fivefold compared with the first edition. The diverse participation of professional photographers, officials, soldiers, teachers, school pupils, and university students offered authentic and vibrant perspectives on the country's borderlands.
At the ceremony, the organising committee presented 21 outstanding awards in two categories: single photograph and photo series. The first prize in the single photograph category went to Trieu Van Lich from Cao Bang Province for his work “Ba Quang – A corner of majestic borderlands,” while the first prize in the photo series category was awarded to Giang Son Dong from Hai Phong for his collection titled “Loving every inch of borderland.”
The organising committee also presented four second prizes, five third prizes, and 10 consolation prizes. In addition, 118 authors with works selected for exhibition were honoured, while certificates of merit from the Party Central Committee Commission for Publicity were awarded to seven collectives for their outstanding contributions to coordinating and organising the contest.
Speaking at the ceremony, Politburo member, Party Central Committee Secretary, and Head of the Party Central Committee Commission for Publicity Trinh Van Quyet stressed that peaceful, stable and prosperous borderlands constitute the nation's first line of defence, safeguarding its great national mission in a rising era.
He affirmed that national defence today relies not only on the weapons carried by soldiers, but also on the solid posture of people's hearts and minds and the soft power of culture. The submitted photographs serve as “milestones of faith” in the heart of every Vietnamese citizen — symbols of love, pride, and a sense of responsibility for every sacred inch of the Fatherland.
To further promote the contest's values, the Head of the Party Central Committee Commission for Publicity called on Party committees, authorities, ministries, and sectors to bring mobile exhibitions to local communities, schools, and armed forces units; use the photographs as materials to instil traditional values in younger generations; continue organising creative camps to take artists to border areas; and accelerate the digitalisation of exhibitions and publish multilingual electronic photobooks to showcase Viet Nam internationally.
He also urged steady efforts to elevate the contest into a national cultural brand and develop a high-quality national photographic archive on border regions.
