Winners from 20 schools are awarded in the creative competition devoted to the Constitution; a discussion of freedom and responsibility

17.02.2020.

On Monday, 17 February, to mark 98 years since the adoption of the Satversme (the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia), the awards ceremony of the drawings competition for 6th grade pupils “A Free Person in Independent Latvia”, and the essays competition for 9th and 12th grade pupils “Why are my fundamental rights contained in the Satversme important for Latvia?” was held at the Constitutional Court. 100 schools from all regions of Latvia had applied to participate in the competition, and pupils from 20 Latvian schools received awards.

The ceremony was opened by the President of the Constitutional Court Ineta Ziemele. She stressed that the central theme of the competition was human freedom and pointed out to those present that freedom meant not only free choice, but also responsibility for oneself, for people in one’s life, and for one’s country. She said that Latvia will be what we make of it with our free choices, a reflection of how each of us uses our rights granted by the Satversme.

Awards to the 9th grade pupils were presented by the Constitutional Court Justice Jānis Neimanis, while the 12^th grade pupils received their awards from the hands of the Vice-President of the Constitutional Court Sanita Osipova. Sanita Osipova expressed her delight at the ideas contained in the essays, which were a vivid manifestation of the young people’s state-oriented way of thinking. The essays sent in show that the young people understand how to grow up, develop, and serve their native land.

 

The Constitutional Court Justice Daiga Rezevska presented awards to the 6th grade pupils. She shared her impressions of the drawings and invited each and every author to connect their future professions with law. She pointed out that a good lawyer is always somewhat of a philosopher who can use his or her legal reason and think dimensionally.

The Constitutional Court Justice Gunārs Kusiņš thanked the teachers for their contribution and for the time they had invested in helping the pupils understand the competition themes. He underscored the significance of a teacher’s work, stressing that it is the teacher who inspires schoolchildren to seek and explore.

Addresses in the awards ceremony were also made by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Raivis Kronbergs, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Uldis Zariņš, Head of Minister’s office at the Ministry of Education and Science Ineta Kristovska. The event was also attended by the cooperation partners of the competition or their representatives: Kristīne Čakste, the granddaughter of the first president of Latvia Jānis Čakste, Director of the Public Law Institute Arvīds Dravnieks, representative of the Art Academy of Latvia Madara Kvēpa, Editor of the journal Jurista Vārds Dina Gailīte, Editor of the magazine Ilustrētā Junioriem Līva Romane, and Editor-in-chief of the magazine Domuzīme Rudīte Kalpiņa.

The winners of the competition could enjoy performances by the energetic Grīnbergs brothers and a saxophone duo from Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music – Lelde Brūnā and Evija Dāve. The event was hosted by Radio 5 DJ Magnuss Eriņš.

The Constitutional Court would like to say a special thank you to the supporters of the competition: Kristīne Čakste, granddaughter of the first president of Latvia Jānis Čakste, Public Law Institute, Art Academy of Latvia, the journal Jurista Vārds, the magazine Ilustrētā Junioriem and the publisher Dienas Žurnāli, the magazine Domuzīme and the publisher Cits medijs.

Information on the winners of the competition is available here: https://www.satv.tiesa.gov.lv/konkurss/