SMK Tun Dr Ismail secondary school in Johor
SMK Tun Dr Ismail in Johor on Nov. 17, 2021. Illustrative file photo of a school in the host state; it does not show Edufest, its venue or competition participants. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SMK_Tun_Dr_Ismail.jpg License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ Wiki Farazi / Wikimedia Commons / CC0

Edufest's published programme places photography and Sustainable Development Goal short-film finals at the centre of its closing day on Monday, Nov. 9, at TMIYC in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.

The education festival's second edition runs Nov. 6–9. Organisers list the two creative competitions from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. in Zone A on Monday, followed by an 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. closing ceremony with awards and recognition.

The official day-by-day programme also lists exhibitions, skills clinics and short learning activities during the morning. Those are scheduled events, rather than confirmation of winners or attendance totals.

Schools planning a final-day visit should confirm their arrangements directly with the organiser. A general festival registration does not establish that a competition is still accepting new submissions on its finals day.

One Photograph, With Context

The Photography Challenge rules divide entrants into primary ages 10–12 and secondary ages 13–17, using age at Dec. 31, 2026. An individual student submits one original image with an advisor teacher.

The theme concerns culture, diversity and community. Each photograph needs a caption of up to 100 words in Bahasa Melayu or English, making the accuracy of the explanation part of the work rather than an optional extra.

Theme relevance and story strength carry 30% of the marks, composition 25%, creativity 20%, technical quality 15%, and visual impact and caption accuracy 10%. Social-media likes and views do not count.

The rules allow declared basic adjustments, such as exposure, cropping and straightening, but prohibit generative AI, composites and adding or removing objects. Entrants must obtain relevant permissions and avoid disclosing private personal information.

Images are submitted as JPEG files, with at least 3,000 pixels on the longest side and a maximum file size of 10 MB. The organiser's rules page leaves the exact submission deadline and results date to a further announcement, another reason to verify the final arrangements.

Films Connect Stories With Sustainable Development

The separate SDG Short Film Challenge accepts teams of two to five students plus an advisor teacher, with the same primary and secondary age categories. Schools can enter more than one team, but each student belongs to one team and each team submits one film.

The required film is three to five minutes, in landscape Full HD, with Bahasa Melayu or English subtitles. Drama, documentary, animation and stop-motion formats are permitted, including combinations of these approaches.

Understanding and relevance to the chosen Sustainable Development Goal account for 30% of judging, followed by storytelling and message clarity at 25%. Creativity, technical quality and the impact of the call to action make up the balance.

The rules require licensed music, images and footage, credits for third-party sources and consent for filming. AI assistance with ideas, language, subtitles or editing must be declared; fully AI-generated films are excluded.

A Festival Schedule, Not Yet a Results List

Edufest's activity framework groups learning around personal development, technology, sustainability, careers and global collaboration. The two closing-day contests draw especially on the global and environmental themes.

The organiser advertises free entry for verified students and registered school delegations. Its headline participant figures are targets, not a verified count for the 2026 event. Monday's awards and closing programme will provide the setting for recognition, while competition outcomes should be checked against the official results when announced.