• “Heat, Camera… Action!” invites the public to share photos that will help design play areas adapted to the heat and the needs of children
• The call for entries will remain open until September 30 and is open to all members of the public, with specific categories designed to highlight children’s perspectives

The City of Valencia, through Valencia Innovation Capital, has launched the photography contest “Heat, Camera… Action!”, an initiative that invites residents to capture what life is like in Valencia’s playgrounds during the summer months to help envision cooler, more accessible play spaces that are better suited to the heat.

The contest, organized by the urban innovation team at València Innovation Capital as part of the “Jocs a la fresca” project, uses photography as a tool for citizen-driven innovation to identify both opportunities for improvement and existing solutions in the city’s parks. Through their photos, participants can highlight the elements that help make play areas more comfortable, as well as share new ideas for improving them.

The call for entries is open to all members of the public: families, children, young people, caregivers, organizations, schools, photographers, and anyone interested in sharing their perspective on public spaces. Photographs may be submitted through September 30 and will be entered into different categories that will recognize both creativity and the ability to illustrate how playgrounds can evolve to address climate challenges and promote their use by everyone throughout the year.

Paula Llobet, the councilor for Innovation, emphasized that “innovation also means learning to look at the city in a different way. We want residents to help us identify, based on their own experiences, what works and what we can continue to improve so that playgrounds better meet the needs of the community.”

Llobet added that “the best solutions for transforming a city emerge when we combine knowledge, technology, and citizen participation. Each photograph will be a source of inspiration to continue building a Valencia that is more resilient, inclusive, and designed with people in mind—especially children.”

The contest invites participants to discover and highlight the elements that make playgrounds more enjoyable during the summer: shaded areas, vegetation, fountains, materials that provide comfort, rest areas, and creative solutions that encourage outdoor play. Through these images, the initiative aims to foster a collective vision of how to make these spaces increasingly comfortable, inclusive, and tailored to the needs of children and their families, inspiring future actions to continue improving public spaces.

In addition to recognizing the best photographs, the contest will culminate in an exhibition featuring a selection of the submitted photos, highlighting the public’s perspective on Valencia’s playgrounds.

Interested individuals may submit their photographs through September 30, 2026, via the platform set up for the contest. The jury will evaluate both the artistic quality of the images and their ability to convey ideas and experiences related to climate comfort, inclusion, and accessibility in the city’s play areas.