The German Goethe-Institut Int er Nationes Kyiv and The Day summed up the literary contest, Germany — Ukraine: What Was It Like? What Is It Now? What Will It Be Like?, and the photo contest, Change of Epochs, Change of Images.
Opening the awards ceremony, Goethe Institute Director Johannes Ebert noted that 250 literary works and sixty photos from all regions of Ukraine had been contributed to the contests held jointly with The Day. The jury was composed of Germans and Ukrainians: Goethe Institute Director Ebert, The Day editor-in-chief Larysa Ivshyna, Ukrainian writers Oksana Zabuzhko and Yuri Andrukhovych, literary critics, and journalists.
The first prize of the literary contest in the Ukrainian division was awarded Yuri Vlasishyn (Odesa) for his story about the German town of Lustdorf which, Yuri Andrukhovych wrote in his review, “carries certain interesting information by its being so specific; the author has succeeded, in a way, in portraying a specific topography, and even in partially penetrating the conception of the phenomenon of Heimat (little fatherland).”
The second prize went to Ihor Skruten (Kyiv), of whom Oksana Zabuzhko wrote, “It is written by a citizen genuinely concerned with the problem of overcoming our traumatic memories of the past, precisely that our current media rhetoric concerning German- Ukrainian relations reflects only political priorities, ignoring the human and interpersonal level.” The third prize was conferred on Tetiana Karpenko, Volodymyr Maleev, and Oleksandra Sytnyk, all from Kyiv.
In the German division, most on the jury voted for Iryna Konovalova, student at the journalism department of the Zaporizhzhia Institute for State and Municipal Administration Humanitarian University. The second prize was awarded Olha Sydor (Lviv) and the third, Nellie Vakhovska (Kyiv).
Leonid Konstantinov (Kharkiv) won the first photo prize “for an excellent combination of topic and technique.” The second prize went to Nina Petkevych (Kyiv) “for its laconic quality and cooperation with the viewer when elucidating the theme.” The third prize was conferred on Yevhen Kom (Zaporizhzhia) “for a skillful combination of work and clear exposure of the topic.” Special commendations were accorded works by Dmytro Tiazhlov, cinematography department, Kyiv; Oksana Nedilchenko (Slavutych), and Vasyl Hrechanyk (Ivano-Frankivsk).
The prizes, diplomas, and greetings to the winners were delivered by Herr Dietmar Stuedemann, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Ukraine; Larysa Ivshyna of The Day, and Valery Stepanov, Foreign Ministry department head. Larysa Ivshyna greeted the German colleagues with the Day of German Unification and noted that The Day is fruitfully cooperating with the Goethe Institute, as evidenced by the contest which was an opportunity to not only have a better idea about ourselves, but also, most importantly, attests the high standard of the readers winning the contest, and that this standard is a real challenge to journalists.
Frau Sabina Feiertag, cultural attache and member of the jury, stated:
“I think that it is a very beautiful and original idea, giving people an opportunity to voice their ideas about the history and future of our countries. I was on the jury, and we judged compositions in German. I though they were quite original and critical. The authors reflected Ukrainians’ real impressions of Germany.”
