The competition is open to alumni of Australia Awards Scholarships, Fellowships and Short Courses, along with alumni of earlier Australian Government tertiary scholarship programs (for example, the Colombo Plan). Alumni must be citizens and residents of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka.
Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia Alumni Impact Competition 2026
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Australian Government scholarships for students from the Asia Pacific: the first scholarship recipients under the Colombo Plan travelled to Australia in 1951.
To mark this anniversary, Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia is celebrating the contribution alumni have made to development in their home countries through the Alumni Impact Competition.
Australia Awards invites alumni to share the impact they have made and the role their Australia Awards experience has played in shaping that impact. There are two competition entry streams, with a winner to be named for each:
Written storytelling competition
Alumni are invited to submit a story of 300–1,000 words describing their impact.
Image storytelling competition
Alumni are invited to submit up to five images—which may include photographs, diagrams, infographics or other images—with captions that highlight their impact.
Deadline: Entries must be submitted by 5 May 2026, 11.59 pm (Adelaide time), 8.29 pm (Dhaka/Thimphu time), 7.29 pm (Malé/ Islamabad time), 10.29 pm (Ulaanbaatar time), 8.14 pm (Kathmandu time), and 7.59 pm (Colombo, New Delhi time).
One winning entry from each entry stream will be invited to take part in a professional photo shoot in their home country and will be featured on the Australia Awards websites and communications channels.
Highly commended entries may also be featured on the Australia Awards website.
Judges from the Australia Awards team will choose the winners based on which entries best communicate:
- the impact the alum has had on their workplace, community and/or country
- the role Australia Awards played in shaping that impact.
You don’t need to have the biggest impact as an alum; you just need to be able to clearly communicate the impact you have had.
The visual storytelling stream will be judged on the images and the captions.
- Alumni may enter more than once.
- For the written storytelling stream, your story must not be solely generated by artificial intelligence. You may use AI and other tools to help organise your ideas and refine your language. AI tools may be used in the image storytelling competition.
- For the image storytelling competition, all photos must be consistent with DFAT’s policy on consent for use of images and guidelines on ethical photography, including by obtaining written consent with this template from people featured in the photos, including their contact details.
- Australia Awards prefers that photos featuring children not be entered. Where photos of children or young people are submitted, entrants must adhere to DFAT’s to DFAT’s Child Protection Guidance Note on the Use of Images. Any such photos must be accompanied by written consent from a parent or guardian, and direct consent from the child or young person wherever possible. If there is any doubt, photos featuring children or young people will not be considered or published.
By entering the competition, you give your approval for your text and images to be used on the Australia Awards website. They may also be used in associated social media or other promotional materials. We may edit your entry for length, clarity or to meet our editorial standards, and will engage with you on any substantive changes.
By entering the competition, you confirm that you own the rights to any text or images submitted and that all necessary permissions have been obtained.
- Complete the online entry form (this link for the written storytelling competition and this link for the image storytelling competition) and submit your details.
- Email your story or images to comms@australiaawardssouthasiamongolia.org.
- Include your full name and competition stream in the email subject line.
Entries must include both a completed form and an emailed submission to be considered.
Entries must be submitted by 5 May 2026, 11.59 pm (Adelaide time), 8.29 pm (Dhaka/Thimphu time), 7.29 pm (Malé/ Islamabad time), 10.29 pm (Ulaanbaatar time), 8.14 pm (Kathmandu time), and 7.59 pm (Colombo, New Delhi time).
Please contact the Australia Awards communications team at comms@australiaawardssouthasiamongolia.org with any questions.