As Radio Prague reports, the initiator of the competition is Iva Kroustek. The idea to organize the competition was born in 2012. After Iva, with the support of Lucie Slavíková from the 'Czech School Without Borders', founded a Czech school in California near San Francisco, she began to think that it would be good to diversify the children's activities by participating in a competition directly related to Czech culture and self-identification with it.
– We wanted to somehow unite not only the children of our California school, but also children with Czech roots abroad in general,’ says Iva Kroustek. ‘We decided that it would be a good idea to do this through a non-traditional initiative that could engage the children, so we decided to try a competition. The new project started in pilot mode because we first wanted to find out whether children would show interest in the competition. In the first year of the competition, about thirty people participated, and the number of participants has grown significantly every year. This year, more than a hundred children from different countries around the world have already submitted applications: China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Germany, and other states. This makes us very happy.’
Participants are offered to compete in several categories: artistic (sculpting, collage, painting, or graphics), literary, and also in a category that allows for a greater display of the participant's talent.
– Participation in the literary section assumes that the participant knows the Czech language (although not necessarily perfectly – they may be a beginner in learning the language, since we evaluate works by other criteria as well). They send us a story, poem, or essay on a suggested topic. The third category is called ‘The Personality of the Czech Honza,’ so we call it the personal category. Parents, grandparents, friends, or teachers who know about a certain talent in a child living abroad can nominate their candidate for a win in this ‘discipline.’ The talent can manifest in sports achievements, music, or any other field that allows them to represent the Czech Republic well abroad.’
– If it weren’t for this competition, we wouldn’t have learned about many extremely gifted children of our compatriots,’ continues Iva Kroustek. ‘It gives absolutely everyone who wants to show themselves the opportunity. In our competition, for example, a boy participated who won all dance competitions in his age category. His parents tried to instill in him a love for the Czech language and supported his interest in Czech in every way, so the boy speaks his native language well. Such a child is an ideal candidate for participation in the mentioned competition category.’
The Czech Honza, explains Iva Kroustek about the choice of the hero, became the symbol of the competition because most Czech descendants are familiar with this character. Moreover, although Honza went to wander the world, after his travels he still returned to his homeland.
– We hope that in all these Czech children scattered around the world, at least a particle of the Czech spirit will remain, and they will be happy to come to the Czech Republic. And the competition was created precisely for this purpose.’
Participation in the competition does not necessarily require attending a Czech school abroad, but it helps children realize their commonality with Czech peers living abroad. The main theme of the competition is ‘The Czech Honza and the Time Machine,’ which, the organizers believe, can prompt participants to make a small excursion into Czech history. In the works they send, for example, they can become mediators of a meeting with the figure of Jan Hus, whose 600th death anniversary is this year, or with another personality or period in history that inspires them.