The second Panhellenic and Pancyprian School Newspapers and Journalism Competition “TO VIMA ton Mathiton”, organized by TO VIMA and Alter Ego Media, concluded with the participation of a large number of students, educators, academics, representatives of institutional bodies, as well as prominent figures from journalism and public life.
The awards ceremony, held on Saturday, May 9, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, reaffirmed the meaningful role of the initiative in promoting student expression and journalism education, highlighting for a second consecutive year the active engagement of young people with the challenges of modern information and public discourse.
A highlight of the event was the presence and speech of the President of the Academy of Athens, Mr. Nikiforos Diamandouros, who emphasized the importance of journalism as a field of democratic participation and free thought, underlining the value of critical thinking and the active participation of young people in public dialogue.
The central thematic focus of this year’s competition was science, research and exploration, inspired by the international Artemis II space mission. Through interviews and journalistic projects, students explored contemporary scientific developments and highlighted the connection between knowledge, information and investigative journalism.
This year, more than 300 schools from Greece and Cyprus expressed interest in participating in the competition, while more than 150 school newspapers were submitted for evaluation. In the final stage of the competition, 17 school newspapers received distinctions.
In the School Newspapers category, the 1st Prize was awarded to the newspaper “Apochroseis” of the Erasmios Greek-German School, the 2nd Prize to “EKTOS YLIS” of the 1st General High School of Rafina, while the 3rd Prize was awarded to “EVANGELIOFOROS” of the Model General High School of the Evangelical School of Smyrna.
In the Best Articles category, distinctions were awarded to Sofia Christodoulou from Agios Neophytos High School of Paphos, Giorgos Anastasakos from the 1st General High School of Serres, Polina Proikaki from the General High School of Tychero Evros, Dimitra Giamaiou from the Model Ecclesiastical High School of the Patmiada Ecclesiastical School, Ioanna Iatrou from the Erasmios Greek-German School, as well as to students Iro Pantzou, Apostolia Papadopoulou and Anastasia Smargianaki from the 1st General High School of Rafina.
An honorary distinction in the Comic Journalism category was awarded to student Maria Tsaliki of the 1st General High School of Artemida “Odysseas Elytis”, while a special honorary distinction was awarded to the 2nd Gymnasium with High School Classes of the Special Juvenile Detention Center of Avlona for its participation with the school newspaper “Trying for Tomorrow”.
Honorary distinctions were also awarded to the Unified Special Vocational Gymnasiums–High Schools of Agios Dimitrios, Chania, Piraeus and Loutraki, as well as to the Special Vocational Training Schools of Trikala and Edessa, for their creative participation and contribution to the initiative.
The “TO VIMA ton Mathiton” initiative continues to invest in the power of student journalism, fostering creativity, collaboration and the cultivation of critical thinking through public discourse and journalistic expression.
