On 3 November, the University of Valencia hosted the awards ceremony for the Trau la Llengua 2023 competition, an event that brought together secondary school students and their teachers in the Salón de Grados of the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication.

The event was attended by Amparo Ricós, Dean of the Faculty, Sergio Maruenda, Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and Rosa Álvarez, Coordinator of the Portuguese and Basque Philology Department. The evaluation committee for the 8th edition of the Trau la Llengua 2023 Awards highlighted the talent and creativity of the young students in the categories of digital storytelling, micro-storytelling, micro-poetry and comics.

Micro-story:

Triana Marí Prada, a third-year secondary school student at Reial Escola Pia in Gandia, stood out in the micro-story category with her work entitled ‘0’. Her story was inspired by her own experience of bullying at school. Triana managed to channel her emotions through her narrative, turning a difficult experience into a moving story.

Her track record of success in the Sambori competition gave her the confidence to join Trau la Llengua. Winning first prize in a category generally aimed at sixth form and fourth year secondary school students, despite being in her third year of secondary school, filled her with pride, according to the student.

Triana also shared some valuable advice for future participants: ‘Don't be afraid to express your feelings and put your ideas into writing, as it could have a profound meaning both for you and for those who read it.’ Although she has not yet decided on her academic future, she is considering studying philology.

Comic:

Martina Fromm Verdés, a fourth-year secondary school student at the Escuela de Artesanos, stood out in the comic book category. The idea to enter the competition came from her passion for inventing characters and her concern about deforestation.

The student described her creative process as an experience in which she imagined a family of creatures in a forest and how deforestation would affect their lives, adding a touch of sadness at the end.

Martina admitted that she initially entered the competition with the incentive of improving her grade in Valencian and was surprised by her victory. She now encourages other students to give it a try, saying, ‘the experience of creating a comic was really enriching and I had a lot of fun doing it’.

Although she has not yet decided on her academic future, she is considering exploring fields related to audiovisual communication.

Digital Story:

The team made up of Alba Badenes, Laia Montes, Judith Montalvà and Emma Matamoros won an award in the digital story category for their work entitled ‘Buscando el pez anchoa’ (Looking for the anchovy fish).

The fourth-year secondary school students from IES Rei en Jaume (Alzira) addressed marine pollution and its impact on marine life in their story, using the world of SpongeBob SquarePants as a backdrop. The creators shared that their inspiration came from news reports about the death of turtles due to pollution in the seas. They joined Trau la Llengua after their teacher proposed the challenge and expressed their happiness at winning the award.

They also encouraged other students to participate in similar competitions, highlighting the importance of the enriching experience that these contests provide.

Micropoem:

The winner of the micropoem category was Manuela García Caetano who, although not present at the gala, did not go unnoticed with her poem in Portuguese, ‘A mina flor’. García Caetano is studying her first year of Batxillerat at Escuelas de Artesanos.

Rosa Álvarez, coordinator of the Portuguese and Basque Philology department, recited the poem for the audience. The jury recognised Manuela's poetic contribution, which brought diversity and richness to the competition.

Information provided by journalism students on work experience Raquel Folgado and Francesc Zamorano.