Prime Minister Kaja Kallas described the recipients as pioneers who refused to be cowed by the knowledge that they were doing things that had never been done before. “You have been open-minded, searched out possibilities and had the courage to run with them even when the path you were on seemed strange and unknown,” she remarked. “Most importantly, you have shared the results of your endeavours with others: colleagues, young people, all of Estonia. What you have done – the heart you have put into it, the intelligence you have displayed and the history you have made – has benefitted the entire country.”
The head of government added that the recognition the award-winners were receiving was shared by a much wider circle. “Success and development are the results of teamwork,” she said. “What you have achieved owes much to what your predecessors before you did and what those accompanying you on your journey have done. And you yourselves will be the foundations for the achievements of future generations.”
Minister of Culture Piret Hartman added that culture helps us stick together and that it is thanks to the achievements of our creative figures, athletes and scientists that Estonia has made such a big name for itself on the world stage. “We might be a small nation, but we’re big in spirit, and the achievements that our sports men and women have recorded are remarkable,” she said. “Results are only ever as great as the people who facilitate them, of course, and those Estonians who pour their heart and soul into the fields of sport and culture are an example to everyone. I am delighted that in the run-up to Independence Day we are shining the spotlight on people who have made Estonia a bigger place through their actions and who have taken our culture, language, sport and science to new heights.”
Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas congratulated the recipients and underscored the importance of their work for the preservation of national identity. “The work you do is much needed and very valuable to both the state and society,” he said. “After all, is it not primarily through our location, our language and our success and standing as a nation that we define our existence? Peeter Päll, the recipient of this year’s Wiedemann Language Prize, has done a great deal to connect Estonians to their homeland by informing them of the places that are found here and what they are called. For when you call a place by its proper name, it makes you feel at home.” He added that Päll’s expert advice on the Estonian language is appreciated not just within his own circles, but also by the public, and that as a language specialist he has contributed to agreements on the norms of written Estonian and to the editing of orthological dictionaries.
More information about the recipients can be found in the press releases issued by the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture:
https://www.hm.ee/uudised/teaduse-elutoopreemiad-saavad-mihkel-zilmer-ja-asta-oim
https://www.hm.ee/uudised/wiedemanni-keeleauhinna-palvis-keelekorraldaja-ja-nimeuurija-peeter-pall
https://www.kul.ee/uudised/selgusid-riigi-kultuuri-ja-spordipreemiate-laureaadid-1
Gallery (Birgit Püve/Government Office): https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAsPuN
The full text of the address given by Prime Minister Kallas can be found online at https://valitsus.ee/uudised/kaja-kallase-kone-riigi-teaduse-elutoopreemiate-f-j-wiedemanni-keeleauhinna-spordi-ja.
A recording of the ceremony can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EYKI4DyaqY.
