Their stories, our stories: Fields of Remembrance Trust - First World War national competition

The competition, which is sponsored by the RNZRSA, the Auckland RSA, the Vodafone Warriors and Canterbury NZ, will open on Tuesday 28 April and run until the end of Term 2, Friday 3 July.

Judging will take place over the July school holidays, and the winners will be announced in August. 

What does it involve?

Students – either individually or in groups – are invited to create an artefact that makes a connection with the New Zealand stories of the First World War. An artefact could be a short film, a poem, a sculpture, a painting or sketch, the report of an event, an app, or – in short – any object you want.

Artefacts can be either English medium or Māori medium, and they should reflect at least one of five themes:

• Heritage and identity
• Making connections
• Citizenship perspectives
• New Zealand in the Pacific
• Peace and reconciliation

To get some creative thinking started, we suggest students make use of the WW100 (English medium) Inquiry Guides or (Māori medium) Resource Packs(external link) which the Ministry has produced for schools and kura. 

Categories and prizes

The competition has four categories:

• Years 1-4
• Years 5-8
• Years 9-10
• Years 11-13

Each category will have prizes for first, second and third place. There will also be two prizes for entries that show the most outstanding community or iwi engagement.

The prizes in each category are:

• First: $500 + Vodafone Warriors jersey + Canterbury NZ sports pack (total value $880)
• Second: $300 + Canterbury NZ sports pack (total value $560)
• Third: $150 + Vodafone Warriors jersey (total value $270)

Prizes for outstanding community or iwi engagement:

• Primary (years 1–8): $100 + Vodafone Warriors jersey + Canterbury NZ sports pack (total value $480)
• Secondary (years 9–13): $100 + Vodafone Warriors jersey + Canterbury NZ sports pack (total value $480)

All prize money is provided by the RNZRSA and the Auckland RSA.

Entry forms and more information

Entry forms and further information about the competition can be found on the Ministry’s website(external link) from 28 April, or you can:

• email us at: theirstories.ourstories@education.govt.nz
• call Anthony Davies at the Ministry of Education on tel (04) 463 5438.

Competition prizes are sponsored by:Vodafone Warriors, Canterbury NZ, Auckland RSA and RNZRSA