Entente Florale (2)

PRESENTATION OF PRIZES

SLOVENSKE KONJICE 2003

LUKE GRIFFIN, CHAIRMAN OF ENTENTRE, FLORAL JURY

Mr Mayor of Slovenske Konjice, Ministers and members of the slovenske parliament, Visiting mayors from slovenia and from the participant countries of Europe, High officials from the Councils of the participating towns and villages, Other distinguished guests and friends.

I would like, on behalf of the members of the jury to be associated with the vote of thanks and congratulations to Mr Jazbec and his team for the hospitality and the wonderful organisation of the prize-giving event. I would like also at this time to thank Jereja Ristic for her courteous letters and e-mails to all participants in the course of arranging our stay here. Janez Jasbec was in many ways responsible for bringing to the entente Florale movement. I would not like to forget also the quiet, background work done by Mr Josef Fidersek in those early negotiations. On behalf of our fellow jury members and myself I would like to say a very personal thank you to Toni Schaus for his on-going contribution to entente florale and in particular for the role he played in inviting us here to for this prize-giving ceremony. We are grateful too all the Government Ministers that have supported the efforts of Entente Florale in and in particular for their support for this prize-giving ceremony.

From personal experience I can assure you of the splendour and beauty of our host country – its wonderful, wooded landscape, its pleasant towns and villages, its Spas and not forgetting the high quality of its wine. How could we! You should then resolve here and now that, if you are staying less than a week, you must return the visit.

The Entente Florale competition is now more that a quarter of century in existance. It has grown in numbers, in geographical spread and most importantly, it has grown in terms of its aims, its programmes and its philosophy. This growth and evolution has taken place in order to match and keep pace with the growing demands of citizens for a better quality of life. Authorities too, national , regional and local, have endeavoured with some success to be more sensitive to these new demands. In the course of providing new facilities and structures and renewing and conserving older ones, they have adopted new, more imaginative solutions, more environmentally friendly and more ecologically based.

No one would deny the possible negative effects of our consumer society nor would the growing materialism that characterises many of our enterprises come as a surprise to us. And yet the overriding impression of the jury was paradoxically the opposite. Alongside a desire on the part of some for the pseudo-modern that is sometimes garish and vulgar, we discovered, on the part of many others, a deep sense of culture and an awareness of the contributions of history. We found a quest for solutions that were genuinely beautiful, harmonious, in keeping with the environment, ecologically sound, respectful of nature and respectful of life itself. We witnessed too the success achieved in towns and villages through generous and tolerant cooperation between the public and private sectors and amoung the various organisations, associations and individuals that form the fabric of urban life.

We have in the past often been invited to visit hospitals and other places of care. We admired their gardens and their grounds. This year however, and I do not think it could have been through mere coincidence, four or five candidate towns and villages showed us, with some pride, special projects undertaken on behalf the less favoured among us – the mentally handicapped. I said ‘on behalf of ‘, I should have said ‘ in cooperation with’. These were not places tucked away in hidden corners but rather were in many instances at the heart and soul of villages concerned – receiving from the village, certainly, but also giving and understanding that urban and village regeneration can and must take into account the needs of the vulnerable citizens.

Many of us in the jury have been judging towns and villages all over Europefor eight to ten years now. Everywhere we remark that standards are rising and in numbers of the towns and villages that we are celebrating here this evening, we are in the presence of what we could call ‘reference towns or villages’ – these are places that could and in fact are examples which can be held up to other towns and villages in Europe. Whatever standard your town or village may have been adjudged to achieve, I am sure you will agree that the effort and thought that went into preparing the visit were worthwhile. I am sure that no town and village that has participated will allow its standards to drop – let your motto be ‘onwards and upwards’

Let me now come to the moment for which you have been waiting – the actual results of the competition. As is customary, we will begin with the villages and each village will be taken alphabetically. I would ask that a delegation of not more than three persons, if possible, should come forward to receive your award and I would also invite the jury member from each country to co-present the award with me.

Let me begin with the northern – most point of our visit – representing in the villageof Alness. The jury was impressed by the scale of the improvements and developments, which have taken place over the last ten years in the pictureque village. Much has been done and there are excellent plans to complete the picture, particularly in the main street. The jury awarded a silver medal. In addition the jury also awarded the special AIPH trophy for use of plants and landscaping in the regeneration of the village.

Next, and from the other side of Europe in , is the village of bad Waltersdorf. This village is set in a splendid landscape that is carefully cherished. The all round excellence of the built and natural environments, with high quality planting and landscaping merited for this village a gold award.

Bormes – les Mimosas was a worthy representative of . For this village it was clearly a case of “nomen omen” – the message is in the name itself. We admired the wonderful floral decoration and also the retention and enhancement of many historic features, particularly in the upper village. We also admired the retention of historic street names. The jury was happy to make a gold award to Bormes – Les – Mimosas.

Cigoc in was a tiny village where nature ruled supreme. An interesting attraction was the stork population. Also of note were the wetlands, which are protected and cared for by the population. Cigoc was a worthy representative of , which was taking part in the competition for the first time. The jury awarded a bronze medal.

Hergenrath set in a bocage style landscape with its tidy fields and hedgerows the villageof Hergenrathis itself a model of colourful tidiness. Its new park is an asset for the future. The jury admired the neat housing estates and the wonderful landscaping in the centre of the village. Those other neighbouring villages, whose friendly cooperation was much appreciated, will rejoice with Hergenrath for it has merited a gold award.

Ivanc worthily and energetically represented . It is a charming country village, with a new public park, a haven of rest and solitude and a place where specialist tourism will no doubt develop. The jury is happy to make a silver award.

Keadue, at the other, Western end of Europe, offered the jury a rare opportunity to visit monuments, which in many instances predated the pyramids of . It is a small agricultural village sitting comfortably among the rolling hills of Roscommon and Leitrim, aware of its heritage and appreciative of its musical tradition. The jury awarded a silver medal.

Lechtenvoorde – larger that the traditional villages of Europe – this worthy representative of the Netherlands offered many insights into nature conservation and the introduction of green bank into the heart of the village. The fury appreciative of the work being done for the increasing of awareness of the importance of landscape and the general ecological approach being taken. The jury awarded a silver medal.

Nenenweg – a beautiful village in a sub-alpine setting where enormous efforts are being made to retain and enhance the unique landscape. The village community also hosts and welcomes a therapeutic community for mildly disturbed young people. The jury awarded a silver medal.

Svaty Jan is a typical traditional, country village in the . In the relatively short time available to the administration of this village many typical features of village life have been restored and are appreciated. Equally the jury was impressed by the sustainable approach to communal heating by using biomass fuel readily available locally. We were happy to make a silver award.

Zrece, representing our host country is home to many of you for the moment. You will have experienced for yourselves, at first hand the charming landscape, the wonderful facilities and the delightful and colourful housing estates within this village. The landscaping and other facilities that surround the spa hotel were as much appreciated by the jury as they are by you. Nor should we forget that all this natural and cultivated beauty live side by side with a sizeable heavy industry plant. The jury awarded a silver award. That ends the award for the village category. Let us now, as quickly as possible pass to the town category. Again we will proceed alphabetically.

 Conclusion.

And now as each one prepares to return to a his or her country and culture, I am reminded of a thought in Coehlo’s book, the Alchemist: “ There is a language in the world that everyone understood… it was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose and as part of a search for something believed in and desired”. Such has been the language that we have been privileged to hear all through our trip in Europe. We hope too that we have spoken to all of you only in the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose. Thank you all – please convoy our thanks to all those citizens who received us so kindly and hospitably. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening – that you have a pleasant stay in Slovenske Konjice and in . Have a safe journey home.