TIME magazine’s International Photo Editor and head of the jury Alice Gabriner said the quality of the submitted photographs was very good and the world's best photographers were among the applicants.

"For the first year it’s very remarkable and I think it will only mean very positive things for what you can be doing in the future and I feel very proud to be part of that first jury." she added.

Pulitzer-winning former photojournalist Liu Heung Shing said he was excited to be part of the jury and that he also thought the quality of the photographs was "surprisingly good".