The “Ask Grandparents” Competition

On February 28, 2023, the winners of the fifth edition of the “Ask Grandparents” Contest were announced during the 2023 Memory Days in Tirana, Albania.

This competition, which has as its heart to help young people reflect on the past, was launched by the Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture, in cooperation with the Association of History Teachers “Youth and History”, and has been held yearly since 2016.

The impact that this competition has had year after year is reflected in the high number of participants and the geographical extent in Albania.

The competition is open to students aged 14-19, who chose symbolic objects that have a special meaning for their families, and use them to investigate their past and tell the story of their grandparents or other relatives. This year, students could choose one of three genres:

• Figurative art
• Written History (Story)
• Digital Storytelling (Multimedia) using family archives (photographs, letters, documents, furniture/furnishings, clothing or any other significant item).

Through these objects, students should not only reflect on their (hi)story, but also on the dictatorial past of Albania.

Among the objects chosen by this year participants, we could see documents, legal acts, newspaper clippings, parcels received from above (especially owned by prisoners or people who were persecuted during the dictatorship), religious objects, and love letters.

In total, more than 150 works were received in the last edition of the competition. At the closing ceremony of the Memory Days, we had the honour and pleasure of the First Lady Armanda Begaj present at the awarding of the first prize in the “Ask Grandparents” Contest.

Ms. Begaj expressed her thanks to all the teachers and students, for the emotions they gave with the completed works, as well as for their help so that his story history is not forgotten.

The following projects were awarded:

2 first prizes
Ejda Qojle – To empty a gourd
Iris Boshnjaku – Unfinished story

2 second prizes
Alba Lloshi – The man who carves memories
Alketa Chipi – No sound

2 Third prizes
Nexhiana Molla – Sad sounds
Stupid Rigers – Guilt is inherited

1 Network price
Rei Ahmetaj – Spaçi Forced Labor Camp

3 Incentive prizes
Gesiana Kurbala – Painting
Grace Kanani – Silence
Trevis Halilaga – Desire and Fear