National History Challenge

The National History Challenge invites students to be historians – researching and interpreting the past. MoAD is pleased to sponsor the special category Have a voice in our democracy. In 2017, students from years F–12 are invited to research and create an entry that considers whether democracy makes for a better world.

Visit the MoAD National History Challenge website for full details.

Congratulations to all students who participated in the 2016 Challenge. MoAD hosted the ACT National History Challenge presentation on 19 October in the historic House of Representatives Chamber. The national presentation was held on 29 November at Australian Parliament House.

Read the 2016 winning entry for MoAD’s special category by Sarah Tang.

Visit the National History Challenge website for the full list of winners.

What Matters?

What Matters? is an annual writing competition run by the Whitlam Institute. This is a chance to express what matters to you in society today.

Entry is open to Year 5–12 students in NSW and the ACT. There are no restrictions on topic or theme; entries are restricted to a 400–600 word opinion piece on any topic of choice.

How to enter

• write a 400–600 word opinion piece on what matters to you and why
• entries must be typed on A4 paper
• strictly one entry per student
• all entries must be accompanied by a signed entry form
• entry forms are available from your teacher or can be downloaded from the Whitlam Institute website (PDF)
• judging criteria, further information and last year’s winning entries are available through the Whitlam Institute

Closing date for 2017: Friday 5 May

Student Prizes

• All entrants will receive a certificate of participation
• Cash prizes are awarded in 4 categories: Years 5/6, 7/8, 9/10 and 11/12
• An overall competition winner, announced at the awards ceremony, will receive an iPad and a trophy. In 2017, for the first time, the overall winner will also be invited to spend a day at MoAD meeting a curator, getting behind the scenes and contributing their voice to one of our learning programs
• See the Whitlam Institute for the full list of prizes, terms and conditions

2016 What Matters? competition

Congratulations to all students who participated in the 2016 competition. The awards ceremony was held on 2 August 2016 at the Whitlam Institute in Sydney.

The 2017 What Matters? competition is proudly supported by the Museum of Australian Democracy, the NSW Writers' Centre, The Writing Workshop and ReachOut.com.