I assumed that is a fair competition and unfortunately they proved they don’t respect their own rules and their participants and they are not responsible and responsive.
Recently I participated in the “2nd INTERNATIONAL ORGAN DONATION CARTOON COMPETITION” in Turkey and I submitted my 2 cartoons on their website. ( top image from screenshot ). While ago the competition announced 126 finalists and showed the selected cartoons on their web page and asked everyone if there is any similarities, everyone can contact the organizer to let them know.
Among the 126 finalist there was a cartoon with the exactly same idea with one of my cartoons (the images below) (2 persons hugging each other and the lower part of their body turns to a heart and their whole bodies make a heart) but my cartoon with the exactly same idea was not selected!
the competition made announcement with the 126 selected cartoons on different websites.
This is a part of the completion announcement note:
“Our International Juries carefully voted for the selection of original and creative cartoons. However, it is a situation encountered in International Cartoon Competitions that some of the cartoons awarded in cartoon competitions are stolen, imitated or very similar. Due to the concern of our competition being fair, original and transparent, if there are similar or duplicate works among the 126 cartoons at the below, please send the relevant cartoon and Id number and the cartoon that you think is a copy or imitation to cartoon@tonv.org.tr
These cartoons can be viewed online between 5-7 November. If any cartoons are documented to be plagiarized or similar or previously awarded in another competition (with the date of publication), the relevant cartoon will be canceled with the approval of the Advisory Board of the competition. Objections after this specified date will not be considered. Award-winning cartoons and the first 100 cartoons will be published on our website on 12 November 2021.”
Based on what they said the similar cartoons must be canceled; my cartoon was canceled but the other cartoon was selected among the 126 finalists and eventually selected as one of the the winners! As everyone can see both cartoons are exactly the same idea; therefore, that is a double standard one of them is canceled and the other one didn’t and even won award.
I emailed the competition at: cartoon@tonv.org.tr and let them know about the situation with attached pictures as proof.
They responded me that they have forwarded my email to organizing committee which means they received my email and were aware of the situation, but they didn’t give me any other explanation regarding the situation.
Several days after I contacted the competition, they announced the winners and the cartoon with the same idea as mine won Sevgi Aydemir Gecegörmez Special Award! After that I contacted them again and reminded them the situation and asked them for a reason for such a double standard and they haven’t responded me yet.
My cartoon and the award winner cartoon are exactly the same idea done with different styles; the same idea, one of them was praised and won award and the other one with the same idea was canceled. That is obviously against the rules completion announced.
The competition enforced their laws against me and canceled my cartoon, but against their own rules they didn’t cancel the other cartoon and selected that as one of the award winners!
Obviously the competition organization broke their own rules about similar cartoons, yet they announced that they cancel similar cartoons and pretended they are a fair competition and respect ethics which is not true. That announcement is only a showoff to trick everyone that they are respecting about ethics. Such a hypocrisy! They are unresponsive and didn’t respond me. They didn’t give me any explanation or reasons for such an strange and unfair decision and it is obvious that they didn’t respect my rights as one of their participants. They broke their own rules and they proved to have a double standard about participants.
I even emailed two of their jury members about that issue and even their jury members didn’t respond my email.
Since the completion neither responded my last email nor gave me any explanation or reason for that, I thought it would be a good idea to share the situation with other artists and specifically cartoonists.
