The “From My Language I See the Sea” Contest is inspired by the expression of Portuguese author Vergílio Ferreira - "Da Minha Língua Vê-se o Mar" - to challenge Blue School students from the 9th to 12th grades to create texts and illustrations that celebrate the sea as a reflection of our identity and as a unifying element between different cultures.
The winners of the "From My Language You See the Sea" contest have been announced!
1st Place
“Raízes Flutuantes Navegando em Palavras” (“Floating Roots Sailing in Words”), by Shara Garcia, 9th grade student at EB 2,3 / Armando de Lucena Secondary School, Malveira. (see text and ilustration)
Honorable Mentions
“Porto Seguro” (“Safe Harbor”), by Ana Guterres and Aitariana das Neves, 11th grade students at the Portuguese School of Dili - Ruy Cinatti Center for Teaching and Learning Portuguese, Timor-Leste. (see text and ilustration)
“O Mar Sou Eu” (“The Sea Is Me”), by Martim Quadrado and Isabel Teves, 12th grade students at the Santa Maria Secondary School, Azores. (see text and ilustration)
The “From My Language You See the Sea” contest challenged students from 9th to 12th grade in our Blue Schools to create texts and illustrations that celebrate the Sea as a reflection of our identity and as a unifying element of different cultures.
Inspired by the theme “Da Minha Língua vê-se o Mar” (“From My Language You Can See the Sea”) – a literary expression by the Portuguese author Vergílio Ferreira – students presented works of high technical and artistic quality, making the jury's task of selecting a winning work and awarding two honorable mentions very difficult!
98 works were submitted to the competition, reflecting the commitment of more than 120 students from 22 Blue Schools across the country and also from one school in Timor-Leste.
The 12th grade stood out as the most represented level of education, with a total of 45 entries.
Many thanks to all the participants for their dedication and commitment, to the Blue Schools that once again embraced a challenge, and to the jury members, Carla Nazareth and Nuno Caravela, for their availability and dedication in analyzing all the works.
Congratulations to all!
To participate, students submited two elements:
- An original text based on the expression "From My Language I See the Sea" (in Portuguese)
- A hand-drawn illustration representing the created text.
In total, 98 entries were submitted to this Contest by the deadline of March 10, 2026. These entries will now be evaluated by the Jury. The winner will be announced in April.
The “From My Language I See the Sea” Contest will recognize one winner and two honorable mentions. Each of the winning students will be awarded a Kobo E-Reader, the book "Ocean: Earth's Last Wilderness" by David Attenborough, and a Escola Azul gift bag.
This is the jury of the “From My Language I See the Sea” Contest:
