The Moscow Kremlin State History and Culture Museum Preserve (Moscow Kremlin Museums) and Educational Company RELOD have announced the topics for the yearly English essay competition for school and university students: “Unity in Diversity: Russia & The English-Speaking World – 2014-2015”. This season the competition is timed with the “Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Manifest of the New Style” exhibition and is dedicated to the work of the great Scottish architect, designer and artist and the development of modern style in Europe and Russia.
The competition offers an opportunity for the youth to express themselves creatively, to improve their English, learn more of the history and culture of the English-speaking countries and develop general educational activities and their skills in writing essays and synopses.
8th to 11th grade students and 1st to 3rd year university students are invited to participate in the international competition entitled “Unity in Diversity: Russia & The English-Speaking World” held by Educational Company RELOD in cooperation with Oxford University Press and the Moscow Kremlin Museums. Both individual students and school teams will be able to participate in the competition (when an essay is written by a team of students from the same educational institution). Essays in English on the following topics will be accepted into the competition:
1. The Culture of the Modernity Period in European Countries.
2. The Manifest of the “New Style”. The work of C.R. Mackintosh.
3. C.R. Mackintosh and the Russian Viewer. One Hundred Years After.
4. The World of Russian Modernity.
5. Modern Style in My Home City.
6. European Art and the Birth of Russian Modernity.
Our exhibition held in the One-Pillar Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin will be the first to show the various facets of the manifold genius of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one of the founding fathers of modern style in the United Kingdom. Modern style is significant because it came to be followed in all of Europe, permeated all forms of art. This style is known as Art Nouveau in France, Liberty in Italy, Jugendstil in Germany, Sezession in Austria, Modern in Russia. We invite the participants of the competition to get to know the works of Mackintosh displayed at our exhibition, attend the classes we organize at the Lectorium and try to analyze the “new style” within the general historical and cultural context, which will help students expand their outlook on the history of art and improve their language knowledge, – says Olga Vladimirovna Dmitrieva, the Deputy General Director for the Development of Educational Activities and Popularization at the Moscow Kremlin Museums. – For teachers, the exhibition, the cultural and educational programs associated with it and the series of lectures offered, including lectures by foreign experts on the history of art and design, provide a perfect opportunity to organize out-of-class activities to build their students' intercultural competencies”.
In order to effectively and comprehensively prepare for writing your essay we recommend you attend the thematic events at the “Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Manifest of the New Style” exhibition. Special tour programs and the lectures at the Moscow Kremlin Museums entitled “The Genius of Charles Mackintosh” and "Masters of Elegant Interiors” will help you learn more of the art of C.R. Mackintosh as the most prominent representative of modern style in British architecture and increase your knowledge of the history of Russian modern.
School groups attending educational programs at the Moscow Kremlin Museums are issued certificates which will be taken into account when the competition results are evaluated.
“Participating in the competition, studying various aspects of the history of English-speaking countries and Russia within the context of global history is a good opportunity to perfect your knowledge and speaking skills when working on research projects”, –
says Svetlana Nikolaevna Ulasevich, candidate of pedagogical sciences, the President of Educational Company RELOD.
The C.R. Mackintosh exhibition at the Moscow Kremlin Museums will continue until the 9th of November. Applications for entering the competition may be submitted until the 31st of December 2014, works for the competition will be accepted until the 10th of February 2015.
About the competition
Educational Company RELOD working in cooperation with Oxford University Press has been organizing international foreign language competitions for school and university students and teachers for 8 years as part of the OxBridge international program for integrating the main and additional English language education at educational institutions.
As of 2012 the Moscow Kremlin Museums act as a partner of the OxBridge program being in charge of the educational and cultural component of the English language essay competitions in order to encourage students to study the history, culture and economy of English-speaking countries. Competitions are held in the form of research projects involving the completion of creative and quasi-creative assignments in line with the subject matter of the exhibitions held by the Kremlin Museums.
On the British side, the competition is sponsored by the cousin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent.
Teachers at the best schools in Moscow and Russia are on the panel of judges at the competition.
All the participants are given certificates, prizes and gifts by the competition's sponsors and partners. The main prize is an opportunity to study at one of the best language schools in Moscow. The rules of the competition are available at www.relod.ru