Iberian Competition 2022: Strong Attendance From Latin America
On 28 October 2022, the 15th award ceremony of EUSTORY Iberia took place at the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda. Most contributions came from Spain and Portugal (62%), but an important highlight of this year's competition was the high participation rate from Latin America (38%), especially from Chile, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, and Cuba.
Like the year before, the topic of the 2021/2022 Iberian History Competition was “Work and Crisis”. Participation in the 15th edition of the Iberian History Competition was slightly higher than in the past pandemic years: 205 students and 46 tutors handed in a total of 50 contributions. The first prize was awarded to Vesna Danijela Nikovic Valdés and Laura Sepúlveda Passano, from Punta Arenas, Chile, and their tutor, Félix Alonso González. Their entry “Subterra Australis” is an account of the history of the Winter Mine (Mina Invierno) in Isla Riesco (Río Verde, Chile) from the arrival of the settlers in the 1930s until its recent closure. The research is based on an extensive bibliography, abundant local press coverage, archival documents and 16 interviews. It includes an approach to the regional culture thanks to various literary material, discovered and introduced in the story by the authors, and is dedicated to Isla Riesco and coal mining. Five second prizes, six third prizes and twelve runner-up prizes were also awarded.
During the award ceremony, José Ángel González Sánchez, tutor of a second prize winner, spoke on behalf of the competition winners, commenting that EUSTORY’s methodology provides students with “wings and roots”. Wings because the students “discover new avenues of knowledge” and roots because they do so in their own environment. He also defined the tutors as teachers who “make students participate and think; they give tools, arguments, keys and channels, and provide a fresh, original way of expressing ideas.”
The Iberian competition organisers also emphasised the paramount importance of tutors because they serve as important ambassadors within schools and play a key role in encouraging students to participate in the competition. Based on a survey the organisers conducted, 83% of the students learned about the competition from their teachers, and 92% of all submissions were tutored, resulting in work submissions of the highest quality, the organisers explained.
The Iberian EUSTORY History Competition is organised by the Real Maestranza de Caballería of Ronda and the Associação de Professores de História de Portugal (APH).