DVV International Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Association of History and Civic Education Teachers “Nova Doba” have concluded a joint history competition for youngsters, “Soviet Past: Rethinking History.” The competition is a part of the international project “A Toolkit for Critical History Teaching," financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
This competition aimed to understand how Soviet propaganda influenced social values in Ukraine. Students formed teams of 3-5 with their history and social sciences teachers. Together, they researched archives and conducted interviews to track how public perception of specific values changed from the Soviet era to the present. 112 entries were submitted, representing the work of over 660 students and teachers from most Ukrainian regions.
As a result of a thorough evaluation process, the Jury selected 44 entries. Of them, five took the first place:
- “You are a woman! You are (not) a leading character of your life” from the Mykolaiv Lyceum named after Mykola Arkas. A study is devoted to gender stereotypes of the Soviet era. Authors: Popova Kateryna, Veronika Kupchynska, Perelyot Kateryna, tutored by Iryna Lobodovska.
- “Soviet school: territory of (un)freedom” from the Kyiv Gymnasium “Troyeshchyna.” The project explores the peculiarities of school education and the role of propaganda in it. Authors: Sofia Shchepotko, Oleksandr Vitort, Vladyslav Shcheblyaev, Danylo Okhrimchuk, Yulia Klepko, Takhmazova Samira, Chornoivan Nadiya, tutored by Olha Dudar.
- “We are the sunrise of our country!” was submitted by students of two schools from Cherkasy: schools 3 and 5. Their work studies public perceptions of responsibility in Soviet times and modern Ukraine. Authors: Vika Babych, Ishchenko Snizhana, Anna Kovba, Ivanna Kutova, Diana Musienko, Mushta Polina, Opara Yeva, Rosokha Arina, Iryna Smyk, Liliya Sokolova, Kristina Yurchenko tutored by Natalia Hrytsenko.
- “In search of identity: NOT fraternal nations” from students of Lviv school number 50, dedicated to studying Soviet narratives about Ukrainian-Russian relations. Authors: Kudryavtseva Veronika, Ivanyk Davyd, Kuharuk Bogumyr, Yehor Kutskyi, Andriy Amelin, Maryana Slavytynska, Sofia Kolos tutored by Olena Sabadash.
- “The Friendship of the Peoples: Echoes Through the Years" is a project by the Chereshenskiy Lyceum students in the Chereshenki, Chernihiv region. It is about the persistence of Soviet myths in international relations. The authors are Daryna Hulak, Sofia Kandina, Artem Titovchenko, and Victoria Perunok, who were tutored by Hanna Savych.
On May 21st, an online awards ceremony celebrated the competition winners. Winners received certificates and valuable gifts. The ceremony was not just about the awards. It provided a platform for the winners to showcase their work and gain valuable insights. They heard feedback and advice from the competition jury and congratulatory remarks from the organizers, representatives of the EUSTORY network, and the German Embassy in Ukraine. The recording of the event is available via the link; the list of all 44 prizewinners can be found at the official website -https://competition.novadoba.org.ua/
The winning teams also earned a chance to participate in two international events. Students will attend the annual EUSTORY Youth Academy in Riga, Latvia, this October, and teachers will attend an international seminar in Budva, Montenegro.
The project's main partners are DVV International, Koerber Foundation, and EUSTORY. It is implemented jointly by DVV International representative offices and local NGOs: Teachers Association "Nova Doba" (Ukraine), The National Association of Young Historians of Moldova—ANTIM (Moldova), Soviet Past Research Laboratory (SovLab) and GAHE—Georgian Association of History Educators (Georgia), and "Hazarashen" Armenian Center for Ethnological Studies (Armenia).