After months of stiff competition, the results of the European Statistics Competition are finally in. But lets rewind briefly to where it all began... In October 2017, Eurostat and 11 National Statistical Institutes jointly launched the first European Statistics Competition of its kind. Over 11 000 students aged 14-18 took part. They had to solve statistical problems, search for data and produce statistical analyses. The top 180 students qualified to represent their countries in the final European round. This required them to produce two-minute videos on why official statistics matter in our societies today. And they rose to the occasion, submitting incredibly creative and entertaining videos. To help select the winning teams from such talented contributions, Eurostat and the National Statistical Institutes were honoured to draw on the expertise of the European selection committee. Given the high quality of the videos, this was not an easy task. But after lengthy deliberations, the jury was swayed by two contributions that stood out for their ability to tell a compelling, fun and accurate story. Winners of the 14-16 age group Team Pakila9D takes first place in the junior age group (14-16). Their video features two students talking to each other about the uselessness of statistics. Another student overhears this and intervenes. Through witty dialogues, drama and real-life examples, he explains why official statistics matter for politics, society and the individual. In the end, he convinces his critical peer and, with him, the jury. Team JML finishes strongly in second place, while third place goes to team Moc_zbioru. The videos showcase the diversity of the submissions, ranging from student presentations to cartoon animations. In both cases, the jury felt that the level of curiosity invoked by these submissions, together with their informative nature, truly made them stand out. The same goes for the remaining two contributions in the jurys top 5 from team CAT5 and team Leostat. Winners of the 16-18 age group In the senior age group (16-18), first prize goes to team toivasnik. In their contribution, the students explore the role of official statistics in politics and underline their importance in providing unbiased facts for decision-makers. Through clever jokes and engaging visuals, they communicate their message so effectively, that the jury was compelled to listen to it. A close second place goes to team Hypothesis, while team Leonardo finishes strongly in third place. In both videos, the transposition of theory into practice astounded the jury, which was impressed by the content and level of creativity. The jury also felt strongly about the remaining two contributions of its top 5 from team Matinfy and team ALFEGMS3. The two winning teams will be invited to the Q2018 conference in Krakow on 26 June, where they will receive their award from Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General of Eurostat. The initiative aims to promote awareness of sound statistics in an age of fake news. It does so by promoting statistical literacy and curiosity among students, while encouraging teachers to use new educational materials based on official statistics. The jury Alan Smith, Financial Times, expert in data visualisation Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the International Fact-Checking Network at the Poynter Institute Ineke Stoop
"In zmagovalec je …" Danes, 28. maja, predstavljamo rezultate Evropskega statističnega tekmovanja Po mesecih hudega tekmovanja so rezultati Evropskega statističnega tekmovanja končno znani. Toda najprej se spomnimo, kako se je vse začelo … Oktobra 2017 so Eurostat in enajst nacionalnih statističnih uradov začeli prvo evropsko statistično tekmovanje te vrste. Tekmovalo je več kot 11.000 dijakov, starih od 14 do 18 let; med njimi je bilo 394 slovenskih dijakov. Rešiti so morali statistične naloge, iskati podatke in sami pripraviti statistične analize. Najboljših 180 dijakov (17 iz Slovenije) se je uvrstilo v evropski del tekmovanja, kjer so predstavljali svoje države. V tem delu so morali pripraviti dvominutni videoposnetek o tem, zakaj je uradna statistika pomembna v današnjih družbah. Res so se potrudili in predložili neverjetno ustvarjalne in zabavne videoposnetke. Da bi lahko izbrali zmagovalne skupine med tako odličnimi prispevki, so Eurostat in nacionalni statistični uradi imenovali evropski izbirni odbor. Glede na visoko kakovost videoposnetkov naloga ni bila lahka. Vendar se je po dolgotrajnem razmišljanju žirija odločila za dva prispevka, ki sta izstopala po privlačnosti, zabavnosti in natančnosti povedane zgodbe. Zmagovalci v skupini 14–16 let V mlajši skupini (14–16 let) je prvo mesto zasedla skupina Pakila9D (Finska). Njihov videoposnetek prikazuje dijaka, ki se pogovarjata o neuporabnosti statistike. Tretji dijak njun pogovor sliši in posreduje. V duhovitem, dramatičnem dialogu in s primeri iz resničnega življenja pojasni, zakaj je uradna statistika pomembna za politiko, družbo in posameznike. Na koncu kritična vrstnika prepriča in s tem tudi žirijo tekmovanja. Na drugo mesto se je uvrstila slovenska skupina JML , na tretje mesto pa skupina Moc_zbioru (Poljska). Videoposnetka prikazujeta, kako zelo raznoliki so bili oddani prispevki, od predstavitev dijakov do animacije. V obeh primerih je žirija menila, da prispevka z radovednostjo, ki jo vzbujata, skupaj z obvestilnostjo resnično izstopata. Enako velja tudi za preostala dva prispevka med najboljšimi petimi, to sta prispevka skupin CAT5 (Španija) in Leostat (Italija). Zmagovalci v skupini 16–18 let V starejši skupini (16–18 let) je prvo mesto zasedla skupina toivasnik (Finska). Ti dijaki v svojem prispevku raziskujejo vlogo uradne statistike v politki in poudarjajo njen pomen pri zagotavljanju nepristranskih dejstev za odločevalce. Z domiselnimi šalami in očarljivimi podobami podajajo svoje sporočilo tako učinkovito, da mu je žirija morala prisluhniti. Na drugo mesto se je uvrstila skupina Hypothesis (Ciper), na tretje mesto pa skupina Leonardo (Italija). Žirijo je v obeh videoposnetkih osupnil prenos teorije v prakso in jo navdušil z vsebino in ustvarjalnostjo. Žirijo sta prepričala tudi preostala dva prispevka med najboljšimi petimi, to sta prispevka skupin Matinfy (Poljska) in ALFEGMS3 (Slovenija) . Zmagovalni skupini bosta povabljeni na konferenco Q2018 v Krakovu 26. junija, kjer jima bo nagrado podelila Mariana Kotzeva, generalna direktorica Eurostata. Namen pobude je krepiti zavedanje o zanesljivosti statistike v dobi lažnih novic s spodbujanjem statistične pismenosti in radovednosti med dijaki ter s spodbujanjem njihovih učiteljev, da bi uporabljali nova učna gradiva, ki temeljijo na uradni statistiki. Žirija Alan Smith, Financial Times, strokovnjak za vizualizacijo podatkov Alexios Mantzarlis, direktor Mednarodnega omrežja za preverjanje dejstev pri Poynter Institute Ineke Stoop