Spain

On 26 October 2018, the prizewinners of the 11th Iberian History Competition received their awards at the emblematic library of the Real Maestranza de la Caballería de Ronda. EUSTORY organisers personally congratulated the prizewinners and gave them a warm welcome to the EUSTORY alumni network, encouraging them to take part in EUSTORY's youth activities and the History Campus.

The ceremony was opened by Rafeal Atienza Medina, Lieutenant of the Grand Brother, who highlighted the excellence and efforts demonstrated by the winners, as well as the role played by their teachers and parents in their success.

Gabriele Woidelko from the Koerber Foundation was a special guest at the award ceremony. In her well received speech she emphasised the importance of history and values education to enable young people to shape our common future, as well as to respond to some of Europe’s main challenges, such as populism, xenophobia, gender discrimination and social injustice.

The competition organisers stressed the high quality of the 11th edition’s entries and consolidation of the participation, with 67 research projects having been submitted. 186 young people participated in this year’s competition and set out to do research on the topic of »Heritage«. Many pupils chose creative formats such as videos, audios, historical novels, comics, websites, or interactive presentations. Most of the prizewinners were supported by one or two tutors. Contributions came from almost every region of Spain, as well as from Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

The winning entry »Arte, Nobleza y Humanismo. La Arquitectura y la Intelectualidad cultural del primer Renacimiento en Jerez de la Frontera« (Art, Nobility and Humanism: Architecture and Cultural Intellectuality of the Early Renaissance in Jerez de la Frontera) was submitted by Bruno Escobar Fernández, a student from Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), and his tutor Carmen Sonia González Morón. Fernández analysed the presence of an important humanist intellectual trend in a historical period that had not been documented before.

Second prizes went to students from Zaragoza, Madrid, Yecla and El Astillero in Spain, Beria Litoral in Portugal and Santiago in Chile. Carlos Suárez was recognised for an outstanding contribution about political interests existing behind the demolition of the Tower of Zaragoza. Three students from Madrid were awarded for their work about all those towns that were submerged due to the construction of dams during Franco’s dictatorship. Chilean students were present at the ceremony, receiving their award for a video that took viewers on a journey through the life of Violeta Parra, a Chilean singer-songwriter. Representing Portugal, Cláudia Daniela Andrade received her award for a contribution about the veneration of an image of the Virgin Mary, proving relations between France, Spain and her hometown. A group of 11 students from Murcia developed a historical novel based on a disappeared local railroad, and 10 students from Cantabria were awarded for the production of a video about the ruins and neglect of a medieval bridge that is located very close to where they live.

Eight third prizes were given to students from Sevilla, Huelva, Galicia, Alicante, Castellón, Madrid, Valladolid and Cantabria in Spain. Francisco Javier Sarabia García researched his city’s urban development by comparing old photographs with current images of Écija. María Luisa de Paz Vélez from Aljaraque received a prize for a video about the British influence after their arrival in Huelva to exploit the mines. And Maite Mira from Castalla and Aarón Queralt y Nicolás from Vinaròs submitted videos which stressed the importance of cultural management for the proper preservation of heritage.

Finally, ten contributions by students from Spain and Peru received special mention. The works were outstanding in academic and creative terms, most of them telling the story of local heritage and proposing innovative ways to improve its preservation and contribution to hometown development.

After the ceremony, attendees were invited to a reception in the riding school of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda, where they got to know each other and exchanged participation experiences.