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ICEFA 2013 Prize Awards - Latvia, Riga

11. 11. 2013

In 2013, the 41st International Children's Exhibition of Fine Arts Lidice (hereinafter "ICEFA") took place, a project created to commemorate child victims of the extermination of Lidice and war conflicts generally. Among representatives of more than 60 countries participating in the competition, children and young people from Latvia are extraordinarily active, and successful too, for many years now, thanks partly to teachers at schools and children's centres, who have made the competition very popular, partly to active approach of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Riga.

When a new edition and its main theme are announced - it was "Traditions and Heritage of My Country's People" for 2013 - pupils across Latvia start to take part, in¨some cases whole classes, even schools participate. Such a great number of paintings, drawings, prints, ceramic and mixed media entries from a single country could not be managed by the Czech jury alone. Therefore, at the beginning of each year a national selection of the best entries takes place in Latvia. In spring the selected entries make their way to the organizer of the exhibition via the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Riga. During summer the panel of judges announces the successful artists, who are to receive honourable mentions. On top of that, young creators of outstanding works receive the "Rose of Lidice" medal.

The panel of judges of the 41st ICEFA awarded 64 children from Latvia from 25 schools and children's centres, out of whom 8 received medals. On 7 November 2013, Embassy in Riga organized the prize-giving ceremony. The venue of this event was the Riga City Hall.

The winners, their teachers and their parents were addressed by Agra Bērziņa from the National Educational Centre, Eiženija Aldermane, Chairwoman of the Committee for Education, Culture and Sports of the Riga City Council, and Deputy Head of the Embassy in Riga Josef Smyček. Having experienced recognition and applause from the general public for the very first time during the prize-giving ceremony, quite a few laureates were leaving the stage filled with pride. The afternoon ended with the showing of the Czech film S čerty nejsou žerty / Devils are not to be trifled with (1984, directed by Hynek Bočan) based on the fairytale by Božena Němcová Čertův švagr / The devil's brother-in-law, which was appreciated by childern and adults alike. The film was translated into Latvian and excellently simultaneously dubbed by the teacher and one-time employee of the Embassy Halina Lapiņa.

On the occasion of the prize-giving, the week of 4 Nov 2013 saw visitors of the Riga City Hall view the exhibition "Great Czechs seen by little eyes", which suitably merged the creative spirit of Czech and Latvian children, thus facilitating comparison.

Children's joy over the prizes and thanks from teachers for the inspiring project are an unequivocal sign of Latvian interest in participating in the ICEFA in the years to come. At the same time, it is one of the most resourceful ways of making Czechia visible in Latvia every year.

Mgr. Josef Smyček


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