In a joint statement, they emphasized the need to maintain the high level of reputation of the award and not to make hasty changes to its provisions.
=”Members of the Shevchenko Prize Committee announced the withdrawal of their powers” />
Members of the Committee of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine announced the withdrawal of their powers against the situation regarding the appointment of this year's award winners.
In a joint statement, the members of the committee noted that they support the idea of creating a nomination for works of art written after February 24, 2022, but believe that this issue should be approached carefully, without haste, and the process of creating a new nomination should take place in a way that does not harm the existence and reputation of the National Award of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko.
“Today, when the winners have already been determined, when the country is waiting for the Decree and the announcement of the names of the chosen laureates of the 2023 Prize fairly and according to all procedures, such changes look ill-considered and destructive. This undermines the transparency and balance of procedures, clauses of the Regulations and the weight of the Award as a stable and authoritative institution with a clear work algorithm. The appearance of new nominations or other unexpected changes in the Regulations for awarding already determined winners undermines the credibility of the Award as the highest award for works of literature and art in independent Ukraine,” the statement reads.
In particular, the members of the committee recalled that the Regulations on the award state that works published within the last five years, but no later than six months before their nomination for the National Award, can be nominated. At the same time, the main array of works considered during the competition largely depends on the activity of cultural institutions.
The statement states that the term of office of the current members of the Committee is three years and ended with the awarding of the 2022 Prize, however, the members of the committee agreed to the extension of their authority due to the introduction of martial law in Ukraine.
“We work within the basic institutional framework , where the transparency and constancy of the rules stipulated by the Regulations and the cultural value of the Taras Shevchenko National Award were and are decisive. We conveyed this position to the Office of the President and the MKIP. In the current circumstances, when we were faced with the intention to change the regulations of the Taras Shevchenko National Award ad hoc, add new nominations and speed up the selection procedure, the members of the Committee do not see the possibility of continuing their work – and resign their powers”, – the statement emphasizes .
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As reported, on March 10, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko and the head of the Taras Shevchenko National Award Committee of Ukraine Yury Makarov announced that the laureates of the Shevchenko Prize together with the winners of the new nomination “For Contribution to Victory” will be announced on May 22, the day of Taras Shevchenko's reburial.
At the same time, on March 11, the Prize Committee announced the laureates of the nominations, and the head of the Shevchenko Prize Committee Yuriy Makarov soon resigned.
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The committee emphasizes that this year's laureates were and elected in a legitimate manner in compliance with the current Regulation. However, the absence of a corresponding decree of the president may cause both distrust of the Award itself as an institution and distrust of the Committee as an expert community.
