Petr Mikyska: it is very important for the Czech Embassy in Armenia to give joy to children

ArmInfo.This year, 6 talented children from Armenia received honorary awards, which were presented to them by Czech Ambassador to Armenia Petr Mikyska. In one of the exhibition halls of the Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan on January 26, a solemn ceremony of presenting awards to Armenian children was held at the International Children's Art Exhibition of Lidice.

The exhibition was held in the warm atmosphere of the holiday, which is so of children. This exhibition of paintings is dedicated to children from the Czech village of Lidice, who lost their parents, during the Second World War. As the ambassador noted during his opening speech, in 1942 the Czech village of Lidice was destroyed at the request of the Nazi government. The men were killed, the women were exiled to the camps, and the children were sent to re-education in Germany. It was a great tragedy and in memory of these children, as well as of all the others who died in the course of military conflicts, in 1967 an exhibition of children's creativity was held in the Czech Republic in memory of children from Lidice. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Armenia Petr Mikyska told the ArmInfo correspondent about the history of this exhibition in Armenia: "Our embassy in Armenia opened in 2012 and since then we have presented prizes to talented Armenian children, but I know that Armenian children participated in this event much earlier, even from the times of the USSR. It is very pleasant for us that we work with children. In Armenia there are a lot of really gifted, talented guys, and it is doubly pleasant that we can give them joy." The ambassador noted that in 2012 the first exhibition of paintings was held in the resort town of Dilijan, as it was the children from this town who received the greatest number of prizes, and at the embassy for that period of time, there were no corresponding rooms where guests could be invited. "It was a very beautiful, warm, bright and cheerful event. It should be noted that the kids tried their best and during the whole event there was a relaxed, warm atmosphere at the exhibition. There were also songs, dances and a solemn ceremony of handing in. Thus, that the capital of the International exhibition of art works of children of Lidice in Armenia is Dilijan," Mikyska said.

The ambassador also noted that the most memorable picture he saw at the exhibition, he received as a gift from the director of the art school in Dilijan. "This picture attracted my attention, and I returned to it several times during the evening. I was very pleased that the school principal, noticing that I liked the picture, presented it to me as a gift. I have the opportunity to see her every day, and we are very pleased that the children are painting for us, the Embassy keeps these pictures. "The Czech Embassy in Armenia cooperates with schools, we work with children and it's very pleasant and important for us," - concluded Ambassador Mikyska.

The International Exhibition of Artistic Children of Lidice (ICEFA Lidice) was founded in 1967. In 1973 the exhibition became international. It became popular not only among children and teachers in the Czech Republic, but also in other countries of the world. In recent years, more than 25,000 works of art have been regularly sent to the exhibition not only from the Czech and Slovak Republics, but from other 70 to 80 countries, including countries such as China, Japan, the Philippines, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe. In 2017, the 45th anniversary exhibition of children's works was held. "Theme of the year" of the 45th exhibition, proposed by the UNESCO organization - a journey.

The exhibition is one of the four largest international children's exhibitions in the world. This year, 224 Armenian children presented their work. Nare Tovmasyan from Dilijan was awarded the highest prize - the medal "Rosa Lidice". Children attended the exhibition from all regions of Armenia - from Dilijan, Yerevan, Echmiadzin, Gyumri, Kapan, Nerkin Getashen, Margaovit and other places.