Films Awarded for the First Time in the Bulgarian History Competition
How did local newspapers report on the construction of a monument for a local revolutionary? What can we learn about the history of education in regional media? Why was “Varna” the first word broadcasted on the first Bulgarian radio station? Those were just some questions the winning entries of the Bulgarian History Competition investigated. One can easily guess that this year participants were invited to research on the topic of “Media in Bulgarian History – A Study of Their Role, Influence, and History”.
With this topic chosen, it was only logical for competition organisers to allow a new entry format for the first time in the history of the Bulgarian History Competition. While in previous years, students had to write research essays, they now had the option to also hand in films and videos up to 45-minute length. This also resulted in a new jury member, Rositsa Mladenova, lecturer at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts and director at the Bulgarian National Television.
The jury chose ten works that were awarded at the Award Ceremony at the National History Museum in Sofia. While Antonina Stoyanova, chairwoman of the organising “Values Foundation”, could not attend in person, her husband and former president Petar Stoyanov insisted on handing over the awards to the winners himself. He stressed that while others simply study history in class, the participants of the History Competition gained additional knowledge through the research they did. "This competition has created in several generations of children not only a sense of history, but also a sense of exploration," the former president concluded.
As well as monetary prizes, the winners also received a special invitation: All of them can take part in the Harlequin International Youth Media Festival in Varna in July. They will not only learn how to produce videos, videogames or websites, but will also get to know their peers from Serbia, Italy, France, Brazil and other countries.
However, not just students were awarded. Deputy Minister of Education, Tanya Mihaylova, presented a diploma to the most successful teachers. "I am convinced that behind every student's success is a supportive teacher," she said and honoured the important work of the tutors.
More information on the winners’ works and the full address by Petar Stoyanov can be found on Dromomania.bg. A summary video of the award ceremony is available on Youtube.