President of Moldova awards winners of essay contest on EU membership
Moldova celebrated its National Language Day on Thursday, marking the 34th anniversary of the Supreme Soviet of the former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic's vote to establish Romanian as the country's official language and return to the Latin alphabet.
To mark the occasion, dozens of people from across Moldova participated in the Great National Dictation, which took place in the square in front of the Maria Bieșu National Opera and Ballet Theater.
Attendees had the opportunity to test their knowledge of their native language. Also on Thursday, President Maia Sandu awarded five winners of the essay contest "Why Moldova Must Join the European Union."
The square in front of the opera house was transformed into a classroom. For 40 minutes, participants had to write an essay dictated by Adriana Cazacu, the secretary of state for education. The theme was "Why Moldova Must Join the European Union."
VOX:
- "It was very interesting, I haven't participated in such a beautiful event with so many beautiful people in a long time. I did well, but I haven't practiced writing in a long time and I was struggling."
- "It is a holy holiday because the Romanian language has been ignored, for us it is a holy language, a melodic language. I came to test my strength because I haven't written a dictation in a long time."
Veronica Nagorneac traveled from Ungheni district to participate in the event. The young woman says that it is a unique experience for her and she believes that she did well.
"I had a great pleasure to participate in this event, to meet new people. I don't have any problems with calligraphy or spelling at school, I really enjoyed it, I did well."
President Sandu and Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun greeted the participants of the Great National Dictation.
"The Romanian language has its place among the nations of the world. Together with over 30 million other people around the world, in Moldova we speak Romanian, one of the official languages of the European Union. In the European Union, where we want to lead Moldova, the Romanian language has a respected place and no one is at risk of being punished for speaking their mother tongue," said President Sandu.
"The Romanian language is the way our people express their purpose, emotions, aspirations, hopes, and disappointments. We very much hope that this event will become a tradition and will bring together all those who love the Romanian language every year," said Minister Perciun.
According to organizers, approximately 500 people participated in the Great National Dictation. The results will be announced by September 10.
Translation by Iurie Tataru