Prague, 20 May - On 19 May 2022, the Municipal Theatre in Kladno hosted a ceremony to announce the results of the 17th year of the international knowledge competition Lidice for the 21st Century. The expert jury of the competition was chaired by the director of the museum Jan Kalous.
The competition awarded 42 pupils and students in two age categories, 6 participants received a special jury prize for literary work and the first three places in each category were announced.
The event was hosted by Czech theatre and film actor Michal Zelenka. The ceremony was opened with an introductory speech by Eduard Stehlík, Director of the Lidice Memorial. Among the distinguished guests present were Pavel Horešovský and Jiří Pitín (Lidice children), the chairman of the expert jury of the competition and the director of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century Jan Kalous, the councillor for education and sport of the Central Bohemian Region Milan Vácha, representatives of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, other members of the expert jury of the competition and representatives of cooperating organisations and partners of the competition. The daughter of the academic sculptor Marie Uchytilova, Ms Sylvia Klánová, was also a guest at the award ceremony. After the official programme, the participants moved to the Lidice Memorial commemorative area, where they had a guided tour and had the opportunity to visit other objects of the Lidice Memorial.
The knowledge competition "Lidice for the 21st Century" is aimed at children and young people from all over the world aged 10-19. Its aim is to contribute to the preservation of the memory of the citizens of the Central Bohemian village of Lidice, murdered by the Nazis in 1942, and to deepen the knowledge of the youngest generation about historical events relating to the Second World War, the Nazi regime, other totalitarian regimes of the 20th century and the transformation of the post-war legacy of Lidice until the beginning of the 21st century. More about the competition here: https://www.lidice21.cz/.
The competition is announced by the Lidice Memorial, a contributory organization of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes and the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. This year's competition was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Defence and the Central Bohemia Region. The competition was held with the support of the Museum of Memory of the XXth Century, the City of Kladno, the Faculty of Arts Publishing House of Charles University, Pačinek Glassworks, Palaba Company and Zájezd Zoopark.
