Tips for Organisers
How to Start a Successful Competition
Photo: David Ausserhofer
What is a history competition?
History competitions are independent from school systems and curricula as far as organisation, management and content are concerned. They encourage young people to learn how to deal with contemporary problems by looking at their past. They motivate them to find out and learn about forgotten or suppressed historical episodes and to start thinking in alternatives. The technique of learning by research is the central element of all research projects.
A general topic is announced at the start of a competition. The young participants then narrow down the topic and chose a related regional or local theme for their research project. They look for research material in archives and libraries, interview contemporary witnesses, skip through old newspapers or visit historical places, etc..
As a result of such a research work the participants often find that conventional conceptions of history don't answer their questions. They realize that they need to develop their own explanations and interpretations. They are encouraged to concern themselves with the views of those who were actually involved in historical events - rulers and subjects, offenders and victims, local people and foreigners, old and young, as well as men and women in their historical roles. Their testimonies may vary greatly and even be contradictory. This enables young participants to deal with a multiplicity of opinions and to realize that history can be interpreted in different ways. The acceptance of a multitude of perspectives is one major prerequisite for understanding and tolerance between people beyond the borders of their respective culture.
What might be the effects of a history competition?
With their research, their interpretations and conclusions young people get to the attention of the public. It has happened in the past that they are even capable of stirring up trouble for authorities. Inflexible administrative structures are disturbed when students start asking questions, demand access to archives, or want to examine certain documents. Their research projects may trigger off discussions or changes and alter relationships between the people involved. Young researchers may also influence and change academic debates in the historical disciplines.
What do you need to start a history competition?
1. You need people/an organisation
An individual (i.e. a history teacher) may be attracted by the idea but before getting started he/she should try to find a group of people, who would be willing to carry out such a project. It should be made sure that the group has the necessary competence for managing the competition technically as well supervising it academically. There should be a clear division of responsibilities and one person within the group should be the project coordinator. Of course, it is necessary to have some office facilities, with access to a computer, telephone, fax etc.. In many cases the organisers of the EUSTORY competitions are based at a History Teachers' Association (like in Estonia, Latvia, Norway, the Ukraine) . Or they belong to a NGO like in Poland and Russia (KARTA, Warsaw / Memorial, Moscow). In some countries there are private foundations which operate a history competition as one of their projects (Values Foundation, Bulgaria).
It has proved to be extremely helpful to have good connections to institutions where the future participants are going to be recruited, i.e. schools, academic institutes, and universities. Good contacts should be established with teachers and teacher training institutions (departments of education, institutes for further educational training for teachers, ...) because teachers can contribute greatly to the promotion of a competition by motivating young people to participate. Later they can assist their research work as tutors.
2. You need a topic
Within your group you will first of all have to find a topic for a competition. There are a certain number of criteria, which can help you in this selection process:
- Attractiveness: A topic should be interesting and attractive for potential participants. It should be wide enough (though not too extensive) to fill the six months' time allowed for dealing with it. It should be easy to understand and open for different interpretations and ideas.
- Public interest: A topic should be able to attract public interest and not be discussed only by academics and history teachers. This can be achieved best with topics of contemporary relevance or socio-political perspective.
- Usefulness: The competition's goal should not be the mere accumulation of historical knowledge but to encourage young people to initiate a process of remembrance in their local community and to critically investigate their own origins. Ideally this will enable them to comprehend social change and to understand the position of others.
- Learning by research: A topic should allow students to learn by examining reality and solve existing problems. In their research contestants should work with original sources. On the basis of this material they will then decide on their own objectives and methods of investigation.
- ‘Real world quality': Topics which allow ‘hands-on' experience and relate to objects will attract more participation than topics with a focus on theory, biography or mentality.
- Too extensive - too narrow: A topic has been formulated too narrowly if it only allows the mere collection of facts, or the reproduction of established points of view. A topic is too extensive if it cannot be narrowed down for research on the regional or local level or if the time given is not sufficient to come to a satisfactory result.
- Topic is ‘worn out' or too intimate: A topic has to be considered ‘worn out' if there is nothing left to discover because the topic has been researched exhaustively. Whether a topic is too intimate has to be carefully discussed and decided in every individual case. One more practical aspect regarding the choice of a topic: in order to pursue their independent research, students need access to sources which are usually collected in libraries and archives. Therefore, it is advisable, that organisers should check if source material is available and if libraries and archives are accessible for researchers. They should also get in touch with librarians and archivists and find out about rules and regulations concerning the handling of documents and other materials from the archives, and what they can do to prepare students and tutors for this part of their research work.
3. You need publicity
The topic has to be announced publicly and nation-wide. For example, brochures have to be produced describing the procedure. Posters are helpful as well to bring the competition to the attention of possible participants. The distributing channels of schools are always very effective.
Contacts with journalists and related professions can be very fruitful for promoting and spreading the idea of the competition.
4. You need tutors
Teachers (and parents) may assist young people in their research projects as tutors. Normally they will need preparatory advice from the organisers. Some EUSTORY organisers, for example, offer regional tutors' workshops.
In some countries, the department of education awards special credits to teachers for their commitment for extracurricular activities which will be counted towards promotion. Given good relations with the education department organisers could suggest running a history competition could be included in the list of those activities.
5. You need a jury
After the closing date of the competition the judging process starts, for which you have to find jurors, who are willing to assess the contributions.
Jurors need common standards in order to correctly assess and evaluate contributions. These criteria have to be developed prior to the assessment process and will be given to the jurors in form of a written catalogue. Special importance should be given to criteria which are closely connected with the goal of the competition. Preferably entries should be assessed by more than one juror. The leading questions should be: has the contribution been researched and produced independently and is it authentic?
The organisers have to consider who among historians and other experts could be asked to serve on the jury and assess research contributions.
6. The big day: the award ceremony
Following their hard work the winners of the competition are celebrated in a public event. The ceremony can take place in various places: maybe in the town hall or in a university . The ceremony can be hosted by the mayor or the dean of the university. In some cases, where the competition is taking place under the auspices of a State President, it happens that the venue is the President's Palace.
The prize winners, their families and tutors are invited and during the ceremony the prizes, which can range from cash prizes to prizes in-kind like books are handed over.
This ceremony serves as well as a good opportunity to invite members of the press, the sponsors etc. to give the competition a wider range of popularity.
7. Competition schedules
Most of the competitions take one year from the announcement to the prize-giving ceremony and are usually run in compliance with the school year. In some cases, the contest is announced at the beginning of the summer holidays, allowing teachers to prepare for the topic and other details by taking special teacher qualification courses during the summer.
The time granted to students for researching their own project and producing a contribution should be sufficiently long - for example, six months. There should also be sufficient time planned for the assessment process.
