| Winners of the school photo contest sail on a warship (23.05.2010) |
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The staff and logistics ship Varonis took on board for the trip seven young photographers from Riga, as well as from Talsi, Aknīste, Zilupe, Dundaga, and Limbaži. Contest winners were pleasantly surprised to find out that they could sail on a real warship. The young people were unanimous in stating that taking part in the contest was not hard and that their own initiative and creative thinking were needed for that. In order to be on time for the trip, Violeta Bule, a 10th-grade schoolgirl at Zilupe Secondary School, woke up at 3 a.m. She was happy to acknowledge that taking part in the contest gave her a wonderful chance not only to sail on a warship but simply to visit Riga, which she does not manage to do more often than a couple times a year. Alise Sala, another contest participant from Talsi Secondary School No. 2, said that she wanted to be a professional photographer. The leader of the photo club of her school encouraged her to enter the contest. This contest was organised by the Saeima Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee, which is preparing for the Spring Session of the NATO PA 2010 to be held in Riga. Students submitted their digital photos showing how they perceive the security of their family, friends, school, and the entire country. Along with the photo, they included a short description of their idea. During the awards ceremony that took place on board the ship, Mr. Juris Dalbiņš, Chairman of the Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee, who headed the panel of contest judges, pointed out: “While evaluating your works we were pleased to see that you understand Latvia’s security issues very well and, what is most important, you identify yourself with our country and see your place in its future.” Authors of the three best photographs received their framed works and copies of the silver collector’s coin “Declaration of Independence” which was emitted to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Declaration on the Renewal of the Independence of the Republic of Latvia. These souvenir coins will also be given as a gift to the participants of the Riga Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to be held soon. Photos |
On Sunday, 23 May, the winners of the Saeima-organised photo contest My Secure Latvia went on a tour aboard the warship Varonis of the Latvian Naval Forces in the Bay of Riga.