Serbia

The history competition (currently inactive)

The first EUSTORY History Competition in Serbia was announced by ASH-EUROCLIO in September 2003 under the official title MEETING THE PAST 2003/2004. By announcing this competition the organisers aimed at:

• encouraging young people to develop their own critical point of view
• motivating youngsters to research the recent past, deal the sources, and learn about the past by discovering it
• promoting multiperspectivity, as well as social and local history

Up to now, ASH-EUROCLIO managed to organise six EUSTORY history competitions.There were 620 participants, thirty-four of whom were awarded prizes. The last four competitions were organised in cooperation with Young Researchers of Serbia, a youth organisation that gathers young people on a voluntary basis. Since the last round, which was held in 2009/2010, ASH-EUROCLIO has been searching for another partner organisation in order to strenghten its own structural and financial basis and, eventually relaunch the competition again.

Requirements

The History competition addresses secondary school students aged 15 to 19 years. Matura papers are also accepted in order to reach as many students as possible.

Students are invited to do historical research, to look for documents concerning their particular topic in their own family, but also in their neighbourhood, by contacting the official institutions and organisations such as archives, museums and libraries. They are also supposed to get in touch with contemporary witnesses and to conduct interviews with them in order to compile as many clues and source material for their topic as possible.

The results of student’s research should be presented in a clear form of written paper that shows analytical and interpretative skills and is well structured and illustrated. The subject of the paper should be dealing with the past and the author’s direct environment, meaning that there must be a local, a regional or a biographical approach to the topic.

Jury

There are two stages of assessment: preliminary and the final selection. Jury members are historians working in various institutions: at the University, in archives, libraries and museums, in journalism and in schools, as teachers.

Awards

The award ceremony is held in Belgrade. There are cash and book prizes for the authors of best papers. All awarded and commended students are invited to apply for EUSTORY Academies.