The Latgalian cultural movement “Volūda”, the National Cultural Center of Latvia and the Libyan Institute of the University of Latvia (LU) announce the photo contest “PieZīmes/PīZeimis/JūrõTǟtõkst”, in which those interested, traveling around Latvia, are invited to capture the borders of the new Latvian historical lands and the Latgalian script and place names in the Libyan language signs. Art photos, selfies, photo collages can be submitted in the photo contest, which will be held until September 30, and the participants who can capture the most clues will also be recognized.
The name of the photo contest “PīZeimis/PieZīmes/JūrõTǟtõkst” symbolically intertwines the words “notes” and “at the mark” (in Latgale “pīzeimis” and “pī zeimis” (pī – in the folds of North Latgale), in Libyan – “notes”), inviting the participants of the contest to take pictures of themselves and to express oneself creatively by capturing the historical boundaries of Latvian lands and indications of place names. The purpose of the competition is to popularize the historical lands of Latvians and especially the names of settlements in the Latgalian written language and the names of settlements established in the Libyan language, as well as to educate the public about the Latvian language as the indigenous people of Latvia and the diversity of the Latvian language through the Latgalian written language.
Indications of the borders of Latvian historical lands and settlements in the written languages of Livonian and Latgalian, in accordance with the Law on Latvian Historical Lands, began to be installed along national highways last fall. Placed signs in society have received both joy and support, as well as confusion and condemnation regarding the placement of the signs and the languages displayed on them. Therefore, the organizers of the photo contest hope that such an invitation will draw the public’s attention to the signs and at the same time encourage learning about Latvia’s intangible cultural heritage, the language of the local population and the elements of Latvian identity. As many have already noticed, at the moment there are more than 50 signs of the borders of historical lands (Latgale, Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme, Sēlija), as well as more than 300 signs of place names in the Latgalian written language in Latgale and more than 30 in Libyan on the Libyan coast. language. Signs in the Libyan language of Vidzeme are also expected to appear at the end of September.
“The directions, in which, along with the Latvian language, the Libyan and Latgalian languages are also visible, are not only a show of respect for the multifaceted linguistic and cultural heritage of Latvia – they are the beginning of a conversation about the richness of the Latvian language and culture today and tomorrow, about all the interesting and exciting things that the unique regions of Latvia the language and culture space can offer both pride in one’s own roots, as well as in developing a respectful attitude and interest of the guests,” says Valts Ernstreits, director of the Libyan Institute of the Lithuanian University. On the other hand, Jana Vērdiņa, head of the Department of Historical Lands and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the National Cultural Center of Latvia, states: “The initial installation of signs in the written languages of Livonian and Latgalian is essential, making the diversity of Latvia visible, calling attention to the history, present and future of the specific places. The Latvian National Cultural Center invites you to participate in the competition in order to jointly emphasize the values of languages.»
Participants are invited to participate in the photo contest, regardless of age or geographical limitation, by completing one (or more) of the contest tasks:
- a creative picture with a sign or a selfie/portrait/group photo at one of the border signs of Latvian historical lands, place name signs in the Latvian written language or in the Libyan language;
- a collage of selfies/portraits/group photos – with as many landmarks captured as possible;
- photomontage, using elements created in any technique and spectrum of imagination, which includes a border mark of historical Latvian lands, a sign of place names in Latgalian written language or in the Libyan language.
Photo works in one (or more) categories of the competition must be sent by September 30, 2024 with the indication: «PīZeimis» (PieZīmes or JūrõTǟtõkst), by writing [email protected] (indicating in which of the categories of the photo contest the participant wants to participate, a 1-2 sentence note about the selection, creation, author of the directions (directions) must be added to the work) or by submitting the online questionnaire here: https://ej.uz/PiZeimis. One participant can submit an unlimited number of entries (in jpg, png or pdf format). Photographs/collages with border marks of Latvian historical lands and indications of place names in the written Latvian language or in the Libyan language can also be safely published on your social networks by adding the tags #piezimes #pizeimis #jurotatokst. When creating photos, the organizers of the competition ask you to be careful with the signs, to be careful, to follow the traffic rules, as well as not to pose a threat to your own safety and that of other road users.
The winners of the competition will be determined by the jury’s assessment and the public’s liking vote (on the social network Facebook from October 7 to 13 on the account of the Latvian cultural news portal facebook.com/lakuga.lv), but the recipients of the main prizes will be announced on October 15, when the National Language Day is celebrated. Each winner will receive gifts prepared by the organizers of the contest – baskets of delicacies created in historical lands, expenses and other goodies.
The organizers of the photo contest, the Latvian cultural movement “Volūda”, the Latvian National Culture Center, the Libyan Institute of the University of Latvia, as well as the supporters Latgale Tourism Association and the Latvian cultural news portal lakuga.lv, invite the organizers of the photo contest to capture the borders of Latvian historical lands and place names in Latgale and Libyan. The activity is financially supported by the Society Integration Fund from the funds of the Latvian state budget allocated by the Ministry of Culture in the project “Strengthening the cultural environment of Latvia: cooperation, understanding and involvement”.
More information about the photo contest can be found on the websites of the contest organizers and on the Latvian cultural news portal lakuga.lv, as well as https://ej.uz/PiZeimis.
Edeite Laime
Latgalian cultural movement “Volūda”
2024-07-25 09:50:12