Czech capital to see announcement of awards for children's Romanes-language literature, video and visual art today - Romano suno 2021
Today at noon the Nová škola organization will announce the winners of the annual Romanes-language literature, video and visual art competition, Romano suno. The ceremony will take place at the Husitská Street Community Center of the R-mosty organization in Prague.
Because of anti-pandemic measures, the winners and their families will not gather in person. The ceremony will be broadcast live by ROMEA TV.
Prizes for the best video production or writing in Romanes will be announced by Eva Danišová and Iveta Kokyová, while the best visual art awards will be announced by Ladislava Gažiová and Antonín Střížek. “We are sorry that the children will not be able to attend the announcement of the winners,” contest coordinator Marie Podlahová Bořkovcová told news server Romea.cz.
“However, we have decided to take advantage of the circumstances to inform the children more about the competition and the jurors. After announcing the winners we will hold a discussion with the Romani authors Iveta Kokyová and Eva Danišová,” the coordinator explained.
“Those watching online can hear selections from their works, learn about what they have written and why, and also hear them speak about their lives,” she said. “In addition, we will be unveiling a new category in Romano suno for next year.”
“The jurors themselves will compete in this category as a demonstration. It’s called Džanas romanes and it will be a contest in speaking Romanes in real time, either in dialogue or as a team,” the coordinator said, noting that episodes of the Romanes-language podcast series about Romani authors, Te merav, will be presented during the program as well.
The ceremony will be moderated by Bořkovcová and the musician Jéňa Dužda. The latter will spice up the program by singing his original material.
The Romano suno competition is for art and literature that uses the Romanes language. The purpose of the contest is to make it possible for Romanes speakers, whether adults or children, to describe their view of the world around them and to appreciate their knowledge of Romanes, a language not ordinarily heard in public.
Translated works from the competition bring the majority society closer to the Romani world, raising their awareness of the possibilities of Romanes as a full-fledged language. The non-profit organization Nová škola, this year’s winner of the Milena Hübschmannová Award, is organizing the contest for the 24th year in a row.
