© Thomas Lekfeldt/ Extra Bladet/Moment/ 1st Place World Understanding Award

Vibe and her father Michael enjoy a playful moment in the bathroom at their home in Hundested, Denmark.

The Annenberg Space for Photography presents its next exhibit, Pictures of THE YEAR International (POYi), with images from one of the most prestigious photojournalism competitions in the world. The exhibit titled, THE YEAR, showcases captivating print, digital and video imagery from some of the most notable events of 2009.

The exhibit will show approximately 80 prints and over 1,000 of digital selections, chosen from more than 45,000 global entries.  The print and digital photographs on display reflect the seminal events and issues that shaped our world in 2009, with views of youth culture, soldiers’ stories, the continued economic crisis, environmental disasters, pop culture, Communist and Middle East conflict, animal extinction, U.S. healthcare, and more.

© Tomas Van Houtryve/ Panos Pictures/ 1st Place – Photographer of the Year – Freelance Agency

Actors dressed as Maoist revolutionaries take part in a battle re-enactment called the Defence of Yan’an on 8 November 2009 in Yan’an, China. The battle is staged daily for tourists who can pay extra to dress up and take part in the mock fighting between the communist People’s Liberation Army and the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) Army. Yan’an is promoted as the “Revolutionary Holy Land” and offers a number of museums, monuments and other “Red Tourism” sites supported by the Chinese government.

© Paul Hansen / Dagens Nyheter/ 1st Place – Newspaper

Of course six weeks old Michelle Olofsson had no clue how fortunate she was being born at a Swedish hospital. But her dad Jakob and mother Ruth are very grateful that their premature born daughter could be saved. In a recent scientific report, Swedish hospitals are defined as being best in the world regarding prenatal care. When Michelle was born she weighed about one kilo. Now she is almost ready to go home.

© Brian L. Frank /Redux/Global Post /Global Vision Award

As the water level of Lake Meade has dropped, residents have relocated, however a few long time residents remain, fishing it’s receding waters.

© Stephanie Sinclair / VII for National Geographic and New York Times Magazine/ Community Awareness Award

Joe S. Jessop, a patriarch of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), with his five wives and many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the day after his 89th birthday.

© Carolyn Drake/ Panos Pictures/Prospekt/ 1st Place Science/Natural History Picture Story Finalist Global Vision Award

Low water levels in a reservoir above Nurek Dam in Tajikistan. The water that nourishes the five former Soviet Union republics of Central Asia comes from melting glaciers and snow in the mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgystan. During Soviet times, decisions about how to share resources were made by the central government in Moscow. Since becoming independent in 1991, the nations now argue about how the area’s dams should be used. Countries downstream want water to be stored in reservoirs during the winter and released for irrigation in the summer. Upstream countries want to use the water in winter to generate electricity.

© Majid Saeedi / Getty Images / Award of Excellence 3rd Place Civil Defiance

Supporters of the defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi run in the streets during protests in Terhan on June 16, 2009. The landslide victory by President Mahmoud Admadinejad four days earlier had shocked the opposition, who claimed widespread election irregularities. As demonstrations escalated, the Iranian government banned foreign media from covering protest rallies, shut down text messaging services and blocked cell phone transmissions and access to some websites.

© Lu Guang / Finalist World Understanding Award

Wuhai City, Inner Mongolia.  April 10, 2005. Workers in the factories have no immunity defenses. They get ill after one or two years on the job.

© Katie Falkenberg / The Washington Times / Finalist Global Vision Award

Recently planted tree seedings grow in rocky ground designated for reclamation on a mountaintop removal site in eastern kentucky. Because the rich topsoil has been scraped off during mining, it’s often difficult for native trees to survive on reclaimed sites. Complete reforestation is rare, and many mountaintops end up grassy pastures.

© Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post / 3rd Place Photographer of the Year – Newspaper

Dayvon Vaughns, 6,  join in a hip-hop dance class during the after school program at Fairview Elementary School in Denver, CO. The program focuses on low income children, offering structure and  positive reenforcement. Instructor Analisa Angel says the class aims to increase students self-confidence and team skills.

© Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times / Award of Excellence 2n Place general news Reporting.

During her coming of age ceremony, Jessica Alvarado fixes her Quinceañera dress on a blood stained sidewalk next to a makeshift memorial honoring tamale vendor, Cosme Gonzaleza, who was robbed and shot to death in front of her Los Angeles home.

“I took this photo at a wedding celebration in a tiny village in Tajikistan’s Pamir mountains. The guests all squeezed into the central room of the house, and the opening in the roof cast a fantastic light on people as they took turns dancing. These are Ismailis—Shia muslims whose spiritual leader Aga Khan (pictured on the back wall) is a descendant of Muhammad. It was the end of a bumpy journey up the Bartang river valley, one of the most isolated spots in the Pamirs.

“The photo is part of a broader project about water in Central Asia. I’m following the two rivers that flow from the pristine Pamir and Tian Shan mountains, criss-cross national borders, get diverted into irrigation canals, and peter out before reaching the Aral Sea. It’s about a forsaken landscape, but it’s the glimpses of human life along the way that I hope will give the work meaning.”

—Carolyn Drake