Estonia

The award ceremony for the 14th edition of the Estonian History Competition took place on 18th May at the Ministry of Education and Research in Tartu in the south of Estonia. Unfortunately, Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, president of Estonia and patron of the national competition, couldn't attend, but his speech was presented by one of his office staff members from the department of Internal Affairs, Mr. Erki Holmberg.

The topic of this year's competition round was 'Estonia’s Road to Democracy', and the seventy-six entries dealt with different dimensions of the history of democracy in Estonia, such as the rights of a minority living in eastern Estonia and an analysis of the President’s speeches during the second Republic of Estonia.

The end of the 14th round of the history competition also marks the end of an era and a generational change: After 15 years of organising the competition and the two EUSTORY seminars 2002 and 2012, Tiiu Ojala and Viivi Rohtla stepped down and handed over the responsibility to younger colleagues from the Estonian Association of History and Civics Teachers. It will not be their last ceremony, though, since both will continue their successful work as tutors, supporting the pupils during the competitions.