The Jekabpils City Council Committee on Social, Cultural, Sports and Health Affairs considered the issue of the 12th Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival, whether the municipality supports the digital festival format.
The City Council has received a letter from the organizers inviting them to express their opinion on the holiday e-concert. As you know, a new concept for the 12th Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival has been developed – in digital, video and audio format, which has been supported by the festival’s steering committee. It is planned that the common program of the festival will consist of 15 different events in choir singing, vocal music, instrumental music, dance, visual and visual plastic art, folklore. Although there is no consensus on the course of such a celebration, the final word must be said by the Cabinet of Ministers, which had not yet decided on it on the day of the council committee meeting. Municipal participation in the e-holiday version is voluntary.
Oskars Elksnis, the head of the Jēkabpils Children and Youth Center (BJC), invited to express his opinion to the members of the committee, said that what was expressed in the letter was only one of the opinions. In this case, it is the opinion of the artistic council.
– They call for acceptance of this case. But there is another – the opinion of the Cabinet of Ministers or, more precisely – Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš that the holiday should be postponed to next summer. There is a confrontation of opinions here, and it would be important for the municipality to wait for the final opinion, which is not available at the moment. We are entangled in opinions, but we have no decision. The Cabinet promised to decide on May 27, but this did not happen. I hope that the State Education Content Center will perhaps provide an answer, – said Oskars Elksnis. He said that he would act as determined by the Cabinet of Ministers, as the BJC would have to comply with these conditions, although a reminder was issued that the participation of local governments in the song and dance festival was voluntary.
Sarmīte Safronova, Deputy Head of the Jēkabpils Education Department, said that the Board will, of course, also follow the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers. However, the Board of Education has contacted both school principals and collective leaders (choir, orchestra) about the e-festival, and all of them are skeptical about it. The long process of distance learning and rehearsals has given its impression. As, for example, saying the choir leaders: the rehearsals took place, but the question was, how good were they? School and choir leaders are skeptical that there could be a quality holiday in the e-environment.
In the letter to the municipality, the organizers of the festival express their arguments, inform the deputies, so the members of the committee concluded that the decision of the council on this issue is not necessary, only the opinion of the committee should be expressed. The Song and Dance Festival Law, on the other hand, clearly states that the Cabinet of Ministers is the one that determines the time and place of the youth song and dance festival. The Ministry of Education and Science and the State Education Content Center are the ones who lead and ensure this process. On the other hand, looking at the website of the ministry, one gets the impression that the e-concert has already been decided and there will be no postponement of the holiday, however, it is the Cabinet of Ministers that has the right to decide and wait for its decision.
It was mentioned that, for example, Valmiera municipality has already expressed its opinion that it does not support e-holidays. MEPs also agreed. There was also a view that the festival in the digital environment does not correspond to the concept of a song and dance festival, and to do so would be to lose the pride of the nation and the feeling of a song and dance festival, so the festival is transferable. In the vote, all committee members agreed not to support e-holidays.
Initially, the 12th Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival was planned for July 6-12, 2020, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was decided to postpone them for a year.
– .
