Pupils from 21 schools receive awards on the 97th anniversary of the Satversme and discuss internal personal freedom
On Friday, 15 February, on the 97th anniversary of the adoption of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (hereinafter – the Satversme), the awards ceremony of the competition of drawings by 6th form pupils “My Fundamental Rights in the Satversme” and essays by pupils of 9th and 12th forms “The Next Hundred Years of the Latvian Satversme” was held at the Constitutional Court. 82 schools from all regions of Latvia had applied for participation in the competition, and pupils and teachers from 21 schools were invited to the awards ceremony.
The ceremony was opened by President of the Constitutional Court Ineta Ziemele. In her address, she told why the Constitutional Court had decided to organised this competition. She underscored that the competition had a broader and more important aim than solely encouraging school students to familiarise themselves with the text of the Satversme. Ineta Ziemele drew attention to the fact that the Constitutional Court had intended, through this initiative, to urge adolescents to ask questions why the Latvian people defined exactly this Satversme, why such foundations of the State as included in Chapter I of the Satversme had been included in it, and why Chapter VIII of the Satversme comprised the particular catalogue of human rights.
Ineta Ziemele acknowledged that answers to these questions revealed why the Latvian State was necessary today and in the future. She said that fundamental human rights were guaranteed in Latvia as in a democratic state governed by the rule of law and emphasised that this order of the state provided the best protection for human liberty. She underscored that the greater internal liberty of each person was the more creative this person would be. Ineta Ziemele concluded her address by urging young people to cultivate their internal freedom and to open up their creativity. She emphasised that creativity was the quality that Latvia would need in the coming hundred years.
Further, awards were granted to pupils of the 9th and 12th forms. Awards were presented to pupils by Vice-president of the Constitutional Court Sanita Osipova, who advised the pupils to be aware of the significance of this moment, underscoring that participation in this competition was, definitely, one of the first items to put on their CVs.
Justice of the Constitutional Court Aldis Laviņš, presenting awards to pupils of the 6th forms, shared his impressions about the way he and other Justices had evaluated pupils’ works, admitting that it had been a hard and complicated task. He said that reading of the essays and examination of the drawings had brought lots of positive emotions.
On behalf of the Constitutional Court, Justice Jānis Neimanis presented to teachers writs of appreciation for their contribution. In his address, he highlighted the important role of a teacher in providing incentives to pupils for self-cognition and development of new skills.
The awards ceremony was attended also by State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Raivis Kronbergs, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Marika Zeimule, Deputy Director in the field of general education of the Ministry of Education and Science Ilze Seipule, and the partners of cooperation of the competition or their representatives: Associate Professor, Head of the Environmental Art Department of the Art Academy of Latvia Kristaps Brekte, Editor of the magazine “Jurista Vārds” Dina Gailīte, Deputy Editor of the magazine “Ilustrētā Junioriem” as well as Kristīne Čakste, the granddaughter of the first President of Latvia Jānis Čakste.
The Constitutional Court expresses special gratitude to its supporters – magazines “Jurista Vārds”, “Ilustrētā Junioriem”, “Ilustrētā Vēsture” and “Ilustrētā Zinātne” and the publisher “Dienas Žurnāli”, the Art Academy of Latvia “Domuzīme” and the publisher “Cits medijs” as well as Ms Kristīne Čakste.
Information about the recipients of awards is available here: https://www.satv.tiesa.gov.lv/konkurss/
After the competition an exhibition of the students’ works was made, including exhibition catalogue [printed and online version in Latvian] with 12 full-length essays and 46 drawings. The exhibition catalogue [in Latvian] is available here.