We also thank Kreevinimaa (Latvia) for participating in the competition, and look forward to continuing cooperation.
Full text of the announcement by member of the jury Alexandra Kellner:
“This year we had two really good candidates, Kreevinimaa in Latvia and Geresdlak in Hungary, which both had their own strengths. It was hard to come up with our final decision. We on the jury were very pleased that Hungarians had the mayor and other representatives on the call, they all seemed to be very enthusiastic about the whole project. The representative from Kreevinimaa had a very interesting perspective, and we have never had a cultural capital in Latvia before. The jury pointed out that even many people involved with Finno-Ugric cooperation have not heard about the Krevins before.
In the end, we were impressed with Geresdlak’s commitment, as well as their ability to obtain funding. The candidate was clearly engaged and committed, brought along lots of partners and had strong community support.
Hungary is entering a new era politically, and now would be a great time for Hungary to be open to the world and host other Finno-Ugric peoples.
So our decision is that the 2027 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture will be Geresdlak.”
