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ICEFA Lidice 2012 Sub-Competition Prize Awards - Latvia, Riga
2. 4. 2012
On 5 March 2012 the White Hall of the Latvian Society House held ceremonial prize awards to 224 laureates of the Latvian ICEFA LIDICE 2012 sub-competition whose works had been selected by the expert panel of judges. This is a regular occasion where Latvian institutions reward children for their representation of Latvia in the international competition itself. It was the fifth time the Embassy in Riga had awarded the Sympathy Prize on this occasion, this time to fifteen participants.
The ceremony is the annual climax of the Latvian sub-competition, which the creators of the selected works are invited to attend. Chaired by the dean of Latvian Academy of fine Arts, Bachelor Study, and, because of the theme, also by a scenographer and puppeteer of the Latvian State Puppet Theatre, the expert panel of judges selected the 224 best from upwards of 1400 entries this year. We know from experience that apart from these selected entries there are many that are sent by Latvian schools directly to Lidice, not participating in the Latvian sub-competition. For example the total number of Latvian entries received in Lidice was 447, with just short of a half of them coming from the local sub-competition. The purpose of this event is to show the pupils and their teachers appreciation for their good work that is to represent Latvia in this international competition. Another reward for the children is that, for the fifth time this year, their works can be seen by the Latvian public in the foyer of Riga city hall along with our exhibition, this time with the exhibition “Jiří Trnka – In Service of Imagination” accompanied by projections of Trnka’s films in the municipality sessional hall.
Children from the whole of Latvia, accompanied by adults, filled the 300-seat hall of the Latvian Society House to the last seat. Having featured fairytales characters, the opening part of the ceremony saw representatives appear of the Latvian institutions that take part in preparation and promotion of the competition in Latvia. It is the Government Centre for Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia and the department of education, sports and youth of the Riga municipality. For the Czech part, Deputy Ambassador P. Šusták gave an opening speech and presented fifteen Latvian children with Sympathy Prizes of the Embassy and some Czech keepsakes. All children received honourable mentions and sets of paintbrushes with the logo of ICEFA Lidice 2012.
Because of the theme, this year saw, besides aerial entries, a lot of spatial ones – puppets and characters from Latvian and global fairytales with the Czech Mole among them, made of glass, ceramic, wood, textile and other materials. Also this time the representatives of the Embassy witnessed the year-by-year rise not only in the quality of the selected entries but also in the prestige and popularity of the Lidice competition in Latvia.
Mgr. Bc. Michal Korecký
