EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Ida Kelarová receives Medal of Merit from Czech President Pavel
The celebrations of the 105th anniversary of the birth of independent Czechoslovakia culminated in the awarding of state honors at Prague Castle. This is the first year Czech President Petr Pavel has been in charge of the event.
Pavel bestowed state honors upon 62 figures from public life, including Ida Kelarová, who received the Medal of Merit First Class for her service to the state in the field of culture, education and training. The highest state honors were received by former Prime Minister Petr Pithart, former Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, and the singer Marta Kubišová.
Guests who attended the ceremony in the Vladislav Hall said the atmosphere was full of joy. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirátes) posted to social media that for the first time in a long time, the ceremony was genuinely dignified, celebrating those who have served the republic.
“The awards ceremony had a level of excellence that I found lacking in the past. When it began I had goosebumps, it was quite a strong moment,” journalist Richard Samko told ROMEA TV shortly after Kelarová received her honor.
“When he presented me with the honor, I genuinely believed he wanted me to have it,” Kelarová told ROMEA TV. “However, the greatest honor of all would be for there to be no more racism here in the Czech Republic.”
She also said that in order to change people’s thinking, it is necessary to create Romani role models, something she has been working on for more than 40 years. She is a choral director and a singer herself.
Kelarová was born Ida Bittová in Bruntál, Czechoslovakia and graduated from the Brno Conservatory in piano and violoncello. She began to play the piano, to sing, and to perform various roles at the Divadlo na provázku [Theater on a String], where she worked from 1975 to 1982.
In 1982, she emigrated to Wales to join her second husband. Three years later she emigrated to Denmark, where she gave concert performances and started to teach Romani songs, then did the same in Norway and in Wales again.
In 1995 she returned to the Czech Republic, establishing the International School for the Human Voice in Bystrý u Poličky in the Czech-Moravian Highlands; organizing workshops, multiethnic projects and the Gypsy Celebration Hartmanice festival; and founding ensembles to perform the Romani song repertoire. In 1999 she and Desider Dužda established the group Romano Rat (Romani Blood), with which she has toured the world.
In 2001, she was nominated for a Czech Lion award for composing music to the film Zpráva o putování studentů Petra a Jakuba [The Pilgrimage of Students Peter and Jacob]. She is proud of her Romani roots and has long dedicated herself to the education and guidance of Romani children and to making Romani culture accessible to non-Roma.
She leads the Romani children’s choir Čhavorenge, which has collaborated with the Czech Philharmonic for several years. She is the first Romani woman to ever receive state honors.
Three Romani men have previously received state honors. In 2022, Josef Serinek, a Czechoslovak member of the anti-Nazi resistance, received the Medal for Heroism in memoriam from President Zeman.
In 2006, Romani activist Milan Horvát received the Medal of Merit from President Klaus. In 2002, the Romani commentator, politician and co-founder of the Museum of Romani Culture, Karel Holomek, received the Medal of Merit from President Havel.
The organizers held the ceremony according to established custom. As many as 700 guests came to Vladislav Hall and approximately 2,000 received invitations to the reception in the Spanish Hall.
In addition to the honorees and those accompanying them, the guest list included government representatives, the heads of both chambers of Parliament and their respective clubs and committees, diplomats and church representatives. Of the constitutional officers, past and present, who are customarily invited to the ceremony, former President Zeman did not attend this year.
Representatives of universities also attended the ceremony for the first time in many years. According to those who participated, the atmosphere was dignified and pleasant.
“After 10 long years we can look forward to a celebration that will be genuinely dignified, during which those honored will have served their homeland, not just one person,” Czech European Affairs Minister Martin Dvořák (“Mayors and Independents” – STAN) posted to X, referencing the 10 years of former President Zeman’s administration.
