President Lennart Meri is the patron of schoolchildren’s history research contest, which is going to take place for the third time this year. During the terms 2001-2002, the theme of the research will be “The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic”, and the aim is to describe and analyse the events during 51 years in annexed Estonia.

The contest’s purpose is to understand and to interpret national values on the background of national continuity, to deepen the schoolchildren’s interest in history and to broaden their horizons and to develop their capability of independent research. The schoolchildren’s history research contests for the President’s award were initiated in Germany in 1973, and the idea came from the Körber Foundation in Hamburg. Today, similar contests are taking place in several countries of Europe. The contests in Estonia, of which this is the third one, have been supported by the President of the Republic’s Cultural Foundation, the Ministry of Education and the Körber Foundation, the contests have been organised by the Estonian Society of History Teachers.

For the contest of 2000-2001, on the subject “Estonian School”, 73 research papers were submitted. On the main school level, the winner was Indrek Must from the Lähte Coeducational Secondary School, and on the secondary school level, the award was shared by Indrek Tark from the Tallinn French Secondary School and Maret Luud and Maria Puhm from the Hugo Treffner Secondary School. In August, the winners stayed in the Körber Foundation summer camp in Hamburg. In October, two of the contest winners will make a trip to Poland.

Participants can register to the contest until December 21, 2001, and the contest papers must be ready by March 31, 2002, and the winners will be awarded in May 2002. The detailed guidelines for the competition will be published in the “Õpetajate Leht (Teachers’ Paper). The competition will take place in two age groups: for secondary school students and for the students of main schools and vocational training schools.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 7, 2001

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