The controversy surrounding the British Embassy's "Getting to Know My Malvina Islands Neighbors" competition escalated following the announcement of the ten finalists. While the national government and the National Interuniversity Council (CIN) maintain a complicit silence , student organizations and university associations have become the voice of rejection, raising the banner of sovereignty over the Malvina Islands.

The contest, which under the deceptive guise of a "cultural exchange" seeks to recruit young university students to spread the British narrative, has met with a strong response from the student base . The outrage is not new, but it intensified after Agenda Malvinas published the list of the ten finalists, from various universities across the country, exposing the penetration of this colonialist initiative into Argentine academia.

The resistance of student groups

Since the contest's launch, the opposition has been constant and firm . Before the names of the finalists were known, groups like Febo Asoma of the Faculty of Political Science at the National University of Rosario ( UNR) submitted a formal proposal to the Board of Directors requesting the institution to declare its opposition to the contest . Their initiative not only resonated at the UNR but also inspired others to join in the defense of sovereignty.

After the finalists were announced, the outcry grew. In Córdoba, the organization Patria Justa, from the Law School of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), issued a forceful statement . Speaking to the media outlet Enfant Terrible , Patria Justa student Laura García described the contest as a "clear strategy of political provocation" and an attempt to use young people to "construct a narrative that denies and ignores our sovereign rights." Her message is clear: "It's never too late to talk about the Malvinas," and it is crucial that universities become actively involved.

These protests are not an isolated incident. They add to the statements of rejection already issued by institutions such as the National University of Tierra del Fuego (UNTDF), the National University of Quilmes, the National University of La Pampa, and the National University of Lanús.

The silence that hurts

While students and university unions defend the Malvinas cause, the passivity of official bodies is alarming . Unlike previous years, when the Argentine Foreign Ministry issued a "categorical rejection," this time the silence has been total . This lack of pronouncement, both by the Libertarian government and the National Interuniversity Council (CIN), is perceived as tacit endorsement of the British maneuver, weakening Argentina's position in the sovereignty dispute.

The lack of a unified and energetic response from the State is an act of grave neglect , which goes against the national cause and the memory of those who fought for the islands. It is imperative that academic and government authorities break their silence and join the fervent rejection demonstrated by the student base, vehemently defending what, in popular sentiment, the Malvinas Islands were, are, and will always be Argentine territory.