An Economic Incentive to... Speak Ukrainian
Last Thursday saw the end of the 3rd International Ukrainian Language Contest named for Petro Jacyk, a well-known Ukrainian- born Canadian art patron, “a person who refused to be poor” but still did not forget about the problems of his historical homeland. The Kyiv Palace of Children and Youth assembly hall hosted an award- presentation ceremony for Kyiv winners.
On that day, awards were handed in to 36 language connoisseurs, including students from the financial lyceum, the Kyiv Mohyla Collegium high school, Pavlo Tychyna gymnasium No. 192, Kyiv Pechersk Lyceum No. 171, the Troyeshchyna Gymnasium, and other educational institutions. What deserves special praise is a brilliant success of the cadets of the Kyiv I. Bohun Military Lyceum, a traditionally Russified establishment. 1st-degree diplomas were conferred on Oleksandr Motorny, Yanina Diyak, Olena Sinilkina, Denis Berehovy, Anastasiya Hapon, Dmytro Brytvyn, Yury Kravchuk, Olha Stepanenko, and Antonina Ryzhuk. The ceremony also saw the presentation of awards to the best Ukrainian language teachers.
The palace’s large hall was overcrowded. The would-be officers sang a musical pastiche, including the tune “Fill the glasses to the brim...” and lines from the Vopli Vidopliasova (Ukrainian pop group — Ed.) repertory. The winners would come out onto the stage with excitement and words of thanks to the organizers... The contest was participated by a total more than 5 million school students, an eloquent fact indeed. In the long run, there was an incentive to compete: for example, the first prize for 10th-11th grade pupils was a handsome 7000 hryvnias! This is an economic incentive to know the mother tongue, which defies all the empty-worded arguments, such as “nightingale-like beauty,” and “shame upon you.”
A week before, similar award-winning ceremonies were held in all the Ukrainian regions, with about 700 children receiving the prizes. Last year, more than 1500 participants were decorated at various stages of the contest. This year’s novelty is that the contest embraced students of all levels of accreditation, with separate award ceremonies to be held on February 4. The finalists (ranking 4th to 10th) will receive prizes on March 9, while the best (ranking 1st to 3rd) will be honored on May 22 at Ukrainian National Opera.
