The team from H-FARM International School triumphs at the second edition of “A Challenge with Words”

The literary competition “Una Challenge a Suon di Parole” reached new heights in its second edition, involving 16 teams from schools across the Veneto Region. We are proud to share that students from H-FARM International School brilliantly triumphed in this challenge, taking first place with the short story “Ancora.” With creativity and mastery, Jessica, Margherita and Giorgio were able to make use of the five assigned keywords – telephone, uncertainty, aromatic, indigo, protest – to create a short story that captured the attention of the jury and the audience. Loaded with emotion, reflection and protest, their work stood out for its originality and deepness of meaning.

Also worthy of praise is the Carta Carbone collective, organizer of “Una Challenge a Suon di Parole,” and its commitment to promoting autobiographical culture and literature. The CartaCarbone Festival, supported by the Municipality of Treviso, the Province of Treviso, the Veneto Region and RetEventi Cultura Veneto, is a benchmark for the promotion of culture among young people.

What does this prize mean to you?

Margherita: To me this award is a confirmation that I am not that bad at writing-which is something I like to do a lot- so winning this award is also a bit of encouragement, maybe in the future I will be able to do more than a 2993-character (509-word) text, who knows, maybe I will even write a book..

Jessica: To me this award has a special meaning because it is a testimony to the fact that the message we wanted to convey through this story reached the hearts of our audience, and I think that’s what makes it complete. It is a reminder of how literature connects people across time and space, and its ability to inspire reflection and change. This award affirms the importance of literature as a vital form of expression. It is a source of inspiration for many of us and will continue to be so for the rest of our existence.

What does literature mean to you?

Margherita: I don’t think literature has a real “meaning”, let’s say that. In particular writing, I find it great because it allows you to create “other versions of yourself”: when you invent a character, you can make them do what you would do, you can give them the look you like etc., so it’s also a bit of a way through which you can “live other lives,” that’s it. This also happens when you read, but by reading the characters are already made, so maybe you just live them indirectly. Instead, when you write, you are the characters and this allows you to establish a special relationship with them.

Jessica: Literature to me is like a form of art expression in a painting; it captures our experiences and translates them into words. It is as if every word we write on a blank sheet of paper comes from a stroke of paint on a blank canvas. So it is a means of communication, and expression, that allows us to understand and see emotions and explore the author’s world. I like to think that literature can tie people together with an invisible thread, precisely because it allows you to see what the author saw, and feel what they felt while they were writing. It’s like you’re living the scene, right there with the writer, and sometimes you can even smell and feel what’s inside that image that the writing provokes in you, and it’s really so captivating. It’s a way to better understand both ourselves and others. Literature is an essential part of our culture, and it is one of the most meaningful and creative forms of expression that we can ever remember.