Ukrainians to choose a “National Hero” among the nominees for the Pride of the Country Prize

The organizers of the “Pride of the Country” Prize, annually awarded by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in partnership with Novy Kanal TV Channel and Fakty Newspaper, have decided to widen the format of the Prize.

From now on, one of the prize laureates will also be awarded the title of “National Hero”. The winner will be selected via an open nationwide on-line voting. Ukrainians can cast their votes on the new “Pride of the Country” website - www.gordist.org – which has been launched today.

The new website also offers an opportunity for the public to nominate candidates for the “Pride of the Country” Award. Should you have an acquaintance, a friend or a relative who you believe is worthy to be nominated, you can immediately submit your suggestion to the Board of the Prize by filling in a form at www.gordist.org

Oleksandr Shvets, editor-in-chief, Fakty Newspaper: “Our principal goal is to bring extraordinary deeds of common people to nationwide recognition. Therefore, we would like to see Ukrainians to be part of this project and offer them a chance to participate in process of selecting the names that make up a true pride of the nation”

Nearly 40 candidates have been selected by the organizers and their stories are now published on the website for on-line voting. The Board will select among these candidates the winners of traditional categories, including Personal Achievement, Phenomenon of the Year, Family Story, Courage of Children, Outstanding Examples of Bravery, Sense of Duty, Strength of Spirit, Rare Talent, Neighbour of the Year, Doctor of the Year and All for One. The candidate receiving the most general public votes will be awarded the title “National Hero” at the 8^th Annual Award Ceremony in April 2011.

The Prize format also will be broadened also regarding the group eligible for nominations. In the future, the Board will consider as candidates not only citizens and residents of Ukraine but also Ukrainians living abroad.

For the first time, the 8^th “Pride of the Country” Award Ceremony will take place at the International Centre of Culture and Arts, seating twice as many people as the Ivan Franko Theatre where the Award Ceremony was held in the past years.