Belarusian Award Ceremony 2016
On April 15, 2016 the award ceremony of Belarusian EUSTORY History Competition for university students took place in Minsk. The contest itself was held in 2015, with its topic being “The Chernobyl catastrophe and its consequences in the memory of dwellers of Belarus”. Belarus is the country most affected by the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Students were to record an interview or several interviews with witnesses of the events and to write an essay based on the interview(s). The competition was organised by the “Belarusian Oral History Archive” and youth public association "Historica".
Emilija Buračeŭskaja (Belarusian State Pedagogical University, Psychology Department) won the competition with her essay on the village Savičy in the Brahin district. Situated about 30 km from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the village was evacuated in autumn of 1986. Then, in 1987, locals were allowed to return and many took the opportunity to do so. Now only 7 out of several hundred houses in the village remain inhabited. Emilija Buračeŭskaja visited the village herself to speak to locals still living there.
The second prize was given to Aliaksandra Bojka-Padkapajeva (Belarusian State Academy of Arts, Department of Painting) who wrote an essay based on the interview with her grandfather. Vitalij A. Padkapajeŭ, doctor of engineering, became a liquidator of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. He was among those "decontaminating" contaminated villages in 1986. Now, like other liquidators in Belarus, he is deprived of monetary compensations for his degraded health, of better healthcare and of other social benefits.
Third prize went to Julijana Loŭkis (Belarusian National Technical University, Department of Architecture). The family of Julijana's mother moved from Naroŭlia to Lida because of radioactive contamination. Julijana's essay was based on interviews with her mother, her grandmother and her uncle. Family members faced health problems because of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, and still feel emotional about their native land, Paliessie.
The EUSTORY Network was represented by Darya Chumakova. In 2010/2011, Darya participated in the EUSTORY internet program “25 years after Chernobyl”. She is now Deputy Director of the “Center for Environmental Solutions” and works in the sphere of environmental protection as well as sustainable lifestyle and promotes the ideas of eco-centrism and rational coexistence of man and nature. Darya stated: “The topic of the Chernobyl disaster takes a very important place in my thematic activities.” Darya talked to the prize winners about her experiences with EUSTORY youth activities and the meaning and great importance her participation once had on her current career.
The award ceremony was held during the international academic conference "Chernobyl accident and society: 30 years after the catastrophe", organised by the “Belarusian Oral History Archive”. The conference participants (including those from countries as distant as Japan and the United States) congratulated (greeted) the winners. Please find more information about the conference and the award ceremony at the website of the “Belarusian Oral History Archive” (in Belarusian): http://nashapamiac.org/archive/viewfullnews?id=360
Web page of the competition (in Belarusian): http://nashapamiac.org/archive/getrubrics?rubricId=6