The judges explained why Anya's talk stood out:

Anya’s presentation on the secret history of BBC monitoring at Caversham Park near Reading was original and moving. Underpinned by excellent research, it opened a window into the hidden world of the refugees who contributed to this important enterprise, and to the enduring value of the multilingual and multicultural exchange that it serves to symbolises. Anya opened with sophisticated questions about the very meaning of global history, and used her talk to emphasise the vital and ongoing importance of telling true stories about the past and the prese