International National Minorities Festival
in Johvi
On 15-17 July 2004 the town of Johvi hosted
a lot of people of different nationalities living not only
in Estonia but also from abroad to celebrate the national
minorities festival called "A Pot of National Cultures
in Ida-Viru County".
 Almost
500 participants came to take part in the festival and they
introduced their national culture and showed their dances,
songs and folk music. There were also four delegations from
abroad -Uzbek people, Lithuanians and Byelorussian and Finnish
culture groups. The festival included discussions on the
problems of the development possibilities for national minorities
in the European Union.
Ida-Viru County, a border Estonian region,
is known for its ethnic diversity. This is partly due to
the large-scale oil shale-based industry here as people
from all over the former Soviet Union came to work in its
mines and factories. For almost 10 years folk culture societies
of different nationalities have been active, teaching their
native language and culture.
 For
three days people could visit the handicraft fair and workshops.
The participants of the festival were especially interested
in national food: Chuvash confectionery products and health
drink, Uzbek plov (rice pilaf), Hungarian handmade candy,
Ukrainian pies, etc. The costume chess game also attracted
a lot of attention - the game was shown on the Central Square
of the town and the counterparts were the culture societies
of national minorities and the delegation from the European
Commission. The battle that began with the king's gambit
ended in the 21st move with a friendly draw which
in a way symbolised that even in the European national minorities
will have their place in a nation-state.
This festival was organised by the Johvi
City Government and supported by the Directorate General
for Education and Culture of the European Commission.
|
