With the presentation of awards and recognitions, this year’s “Our Essential Language” competition for the most beautiful Cyrillic manuscript has concluded in Gradiška. The competition was organized in honor of Saint Sava by the National Library of Gradiška and the Serb Educational and Cultural Society “Prosvjeta.”
A total of 206 manuscripts from various cities across Republika Srpska were submitted for the competition.
Awards were presented to the authors of the three most beautiful manuscripts in the categories of younger and older elementary school students, high school students, and other citizens.
There was particular interest in the beauty of the Cyrillic script among high school students, and the organizers are encouraged by the growing number of high-quality submissions from younger elementary school students each year.
A special award was given to Miloš Popović from Prnjavor, who won first prize in the citizens’ category last year.
“Each year, the submissions improve, and Cyrillic is becoming increasingly popular. Our culture is being revitalized and enriched. This year, we have seen that manuscripts and calligraphy have reached a higher level, and ornamental culture has also emerged,” Popović emphasized.
The National Library of Gradiška has organized the “Our Essential Language” competition for the fourth time as part of efforts to preserve the Cyrillic script from being forgotten.
“It is important that both parents and their children avoid using foreign words in writing and speech. We need to read more, especially books written in Cyrillic. This applies primarily to elementary and high school students because that is how we will preserve Cyrillic,” said Snježana Miljković, director of the National Library of Gradiška.
She added that, in addition to this competition, the Library has also organized a Calligraphy School, which is another way to preserve and nurture the Cyrillic script.
In addition to the 14 awarded manuscripts, another 47 selected Cyrillic manuscripts are on display in the reading room of the National Library, available for visitors to view over the next seven days.
Source: RTRS
