"Causes and Effects" was the theme of this year's National History Challenge 2022 competition, where two students of Greek origin excelled.
The two students distinguished themselves for their critical thinking.
Nektaria Toscas, a secondary school student at Camberwell Girls Grammar, came first, receiving the title of "Young Historian of the Year 2022", for her essay investigating Eurovision - European Politics relations. The winner explained that the inspiration for this theme came from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Eurovision's actions and attitudes towards Ukraine this year, as well as the results, "interested me to consider whether these results are consistent with a pattern of Eurovision mainly supporting countries that pursue or desire a Western identity , not only this year, but throughout its history, including its foundation."
Olivia Tsigaropoulos, a third-year high school student at Casimir Catholic College, came first in the "Democracy Matters" category, for her research on the development and success of "Shopfront" - a local theater group in which she herself participates. As the winner stated, “Story is not just about big events – everything has a story, everything has a story waiting to be told. Shopfront is an incredible community that I am so grateful to be a part of. Her story is powerful, moving and touching - I think people need to hear it."
500 schools and a total of 4.000 students participated in this year's competition. This competition gives students in Australia the opportunity to become historians, to analyse, research and deal thoroughly with a topic of their interest, submitting it in the form of an essay, presentation, video or report.
This year, the awards ceremony took place in
Camera, where Federal Education Minister Jason Clare emphasized his love for the subject, and said he was pleased and impressed with the students' presentations.
His statement when he presented the first prize was: “Maybe it's not really fair, but there is only one Young Historian of the Year. ABBA won it. Celine Dion won it. We tried to win it. And for her work on the history of [Eurovision] and its connection to European politics the winner of the 2022 Young Historian of the Year is Nektaria Toscas."
Center photo: Nektaria Toscas and Olivia Tsigaropoulos in the front row (left to right after Education Minister Jason Clare). Photo: Facebook/Jason Clare
