Teams from the states of Ceará, Pernambuco and São Paulo received the highest number of medals in the final of the 14th National Olympiad in Brazilian History (ONHB), held by Unicamp. More than 1,2 students from all states in the country were at the University this Saturday and Sunday (20 and 21/8) to participate in the in-person grand final, after two years in an online format.
In total, 320 teams came to the final in Campinas. 15 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze medals were awarded. The state of Ceará was the one that won the most medals: a total of 17. Next was Pernambuco, with 16 medalist teams, and São Paulo, with 10.
Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte had eight medal groups each. Minas Gerais and Sergipe had, respectively, four and three medalist teams. Paraíba and Maranhão had two teams each. Paraná, Mato Grosso, Santa Catarina, Amazonas and Goiás each had a medalist team. The other teams received a medal of honor for merit.
This year, ONHB had 18 thousand registered teams, totaling more than 73 thousand people. Students from the 8th and 9th years of Elementary School and High School participate in the Olympiad, in groups made up of three students and a History teacher. In the final phase, the teams held a test this Saturday morning (20), whose central theme was the participation of women in politics, as voters and candidates.
The medals were handed out this Sunday (21) in an exciting awards ceremony, which included a rock show and the presence of Unicamp authorities, such as the pro-rector of Extension and Culture, Fernando Coelho; the director of the Permanent Commission for Entrance Exams (Comvest), José Alves de Freitas Neto; Andréa Galvão, director of the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH); and Luis Rodrigues, head of the History Department.
Also present were Ana Cláudia de Souza Mota, Science and Technology analyst and Olympics manager at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ); Valdei Lopes de Araújo, president of the National History Association (Anpuh); Juliana Andrade, second secretary at Anpuh; and Paulo Eduardo Teixeira, president of Anpuh-SP, as well as representatives from the Petér Murányi Foundation.
“It is exciting to resume the in-person final, as it is an important experience for students. Regardless of the result, the teams have the opportunity to get to know a relevant University like Unicamp and share experiences with other students from different realities”, said Cristina Meneguello, coordinator of ONHB and professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences at Unicamp (IFCH) .
In her speech, the coordinator also reinforced ONHB's commitment to fighting against the international proliferation of historical denialism. “A denialism that threatens the memory and history of different social groups, motivated not only by ignorance, but by ideological interests. Our commitment is to fight for everyone’s access to a quality, socially referenced education system that guarantees students’ permanence in school,” she stated.
Olympic vacancies and recognition award for teachers
On Saturday, interested students took an individual test to compete for a place on the undergraduate History course at Unicamp. The ONHB is part of the 'Olympic Vacancies' notice in which, depending on their performance, medal-winning students have the chance to enter the University without taking the entrance exam.
During the lecture held for teachers on Saturday morning, professor Júlia Ribeiro was announced as the winner of the 1st edition of the Joan Ribeiro Award. A teacher at Colégio GGE (Grupo Gênes de Ensino), in Recife (PE), she is the supervisor with the largest number of teams registered in 2022: a total of 110 groups.
The award recognizes teachers for their commitment to supporting teaching and scientific dissemination in History. For personal reasons, the teacher was unable to attend the ONHB final and was represented by the College's results manager, Glaumo Leitão.
This is also a tribute to Joan Botelho, a professor from Maranhão who passed away as a result of Covid-19, in April 2021, and who was an important supporter of ONHB, participating in the project since its first editions.
About the History Olympiad
ONHB has six online phases, which were carried out in May and June, lasting one week each. In these stages, the tests included multiple choice questions and tasks, which could be prepared by the participants based on debate with colleagues, research in books, the internet and guidance from the teacher.
In addition to themes on the History of Brazil, the ONHB presents questions that permeate interdisciplinary subjects, such as geography, literature, archeology, cultural heritage, urbanism, current affairs, etc. It is also an important tool for teaching Brazilian History and encourages critical analysis among students.
The ONHB is carried out with the support of the Unicamp History Department and the National History Association (Anpuh). It has the participation of university professors, undergraduate students, master's students and doctoral students.
