Ratiboř

At the beginning nobody really wanted to enter the competition, but then the enthusiasm prevailed and we started to prepare for the visit of the evaluation committee. The jury arrived on 22 June at 10.00 and in two hours we had to perform our entire planned programme.

The welcoming ceremony took place at the kindergarten. This was followed by a tour, where we showed off the complete renovation of the building and garden.

After the tour of the kindergarten, the children from Kosáček were waiting for the committee at the parking lot on the meadow, they danced, sang and the artistic director Barbora Mrlinová talked about the activities of the whole group. This was followed by a visit to Mr. Tomanec, who demonstrated the making of skewers. In front of the Tomanec's house, a fire truck was waiting for the committee, which took its members to the Ratiboř Farm, where Mr. Adámek, the chairman, described the farm's management, projects and successes.

This was followed by a tour of the elementary school and a presentation of the Gardens in Natural Style project. After saying goodbye to the director, we visited the Evangelical Church with the committee, where there was a short performance of the Bells of Good News - the youngest group and a presentation of the Ratiboř CCE choir.

After this performance, our associations were waiting for us in the garden of the rectory. The committee tasted goulash from the goulash king Mr. Vrba, podlesniki from Ester Miniariková and Marcela Machalová and then followed the individual presentations of all Ratiboř associations. We also had a short visit to the library and a tour of the cemetery reconstruction.

We finished the whole presentation in the parish garden, where the Kosács sang the song "We are Wallachians" with all the visitors, and we said goodbye to the committee.

The whole two hours took place in a friendly atmosphere, the associations worked hard with their presentations and the children took care with their performances.

We were even more pleased to see the announcement of the results on Monday 25 June 2018 at the regional office. The village of Ratiboř was awarded the White Ribbon
- This award demonstrates the involvement of children and young people in the life of the village and the conceptual support of its interest in the rural community. The activities of education of the young generation by local associations, work with children in the library, creating conditions for spending free time are appreciated. The achievements of young people are a significant contribution.

and their continued interest in the life and development of the community, intergenerational meetings, children's extra-curricular activities and good examples of ongoing work with children and young people locally.

Afterwards, the Mayor and I proudly received the White Ribbon in Dolní Nemčí - the winner of this year's regional round - from the hands of the Governor, representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and the Association for Rural Renewal. This award also includes a financial reward of CZK 200 000 from the Zlín Region and CZK 600 000 from the Ministry for Regional Development.

Thank you to all of you who helped with the preparation and running of the presentation, and it was a great honour to represent the municipality of Ratiboř.