By Anjelica Smilovitis
Young Greek Australian students, Nektaria Toscas and Olivia Tsigaropoulos, have been named ‘National Winners’ for Australia in the 2022 National History Challenge.
The competition invited students to practice as historians by researching the 2022 theme, Causes and Consequences, using their critical thinking and research skills to write an essay, create a multimedia presentation or an exhibition in a museum.
Nektaria and Olivia were amongst 4,000 students from 500 schools throughout Australia who submitted their work for the national history challenge.
Nektaria is a Year 11 student at Camberwell Girls Grammar School in Victoria. She was named the national 2022 Young Historian of the Year and also won in the ‘Year 11-12’ category for her state.
Nektaria’s original essay submission explored the interconnections of the Eurovision Song Contest with European Politics.
Olivia is a Year 9 student at Casimir Catholic College in NSW. She was a national and state winner in the ‘Democracy Matters’ category.
Olivia’s multimedia presentation analysed the evolution and success of her local theater group Shopfront.
“I feel very honoured and happy that my project was chosen as a winner. I was shocked when I found out as I knew there would have been a lot of tough competition,” Olivia told Sydney Catholic Schools.
More state winners include: Anastasia Botros from Kambala in NSW in the ‘Year Level 5-6’ category; Parris Triantos from Aquinas Catholic College Menai in NSW in the ‘Using Primary Sources’ category; and Manoli Samios from Brisbane Grammar School in Queensland in the ‘Year Level 10’ category.
The award ceremony for the competition was held in Canberra on Monday, where both students alongside other top contenders traveled to accept their awards.
The Federal Minister of Education, Jason Clare, attended the awards and congratulated all the students on their remarkable submissions.
“I loved coming on the journey with you and reading everything you wrote and I hope you keep doing it for the rest of your lives,” Mr Clare said.
To read the students essays and watch their presentations, visit historychallenge.org.au/2022-winners
