Riga becoming European Capital of Culture in 2014 will be a great opportunity for all of Latvia, and our country must take advantage of it effectively in order to promote awareness and attract tourists. Additionally, the expansive cultural programme will be a great introduction to the forthcoming Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This was emphasized by the MPs of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, May 2, after listening to the information provided by Foundation Rīga|2014 representatives.

“Never before has Latvia organized such an ambitious event as Riga becoming the Capital of Culture of all of Europe. We must use this wonderful opportunity wisely and effectively, to not only promote awareness of Riga and Latvia, but also to maximize the economic benefits,” said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ojārs Kalniņš.

As the representatives of Foundation Rīga|2014 explained at the hearing, experience has shown that the economic benefits of a city becoming European Capital of Culture are largely dependent on how much the city and country themselves are ready to invest in external communication. In response to the proposal by Sergejs Potapkins, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to place ads on major international satellite TV news channels, Diāna Čivle, Director of Foundation Rīga|2014, acknowledged that given the financial constraints, no resources have been allocated for expensive television ads.

“Bearing in mind Latvia’s limited financial capacity, Rīga 2014 events should be interesting enough for BBC, CNN and ALJazeera to want to come to Riga and report on them,” O. Kalniņš said. Committee MP Jānis Dombravs (VL-TB/LNNK), meanwhile, proposed involving Latvians living abroad in the promotion of the Capital of Culture.

Regarding the links between Rīga 2014 events and the forthcoming Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2015, Foundation Rīga|2014 Programme Director Aiva Rozenberga pointed out that Italy, who is to hold the Presidency before Latvia, in the second half of 2014, has already shown a great interest in cooperation. Early May will see the opening of the first Latvian art exhibitions in Rome, and this cooperation will continue, said A. Rozenberga.

As European Capital of Culture, Riga will offer an extensive cultural programme throughout the year, also giving volunteers and NGOs a chance to get involved in the project. The organizers want to view culture from a wide perspective – not just as art and exhibitions – because every one of our country’s inhabitants is creative, and other sectors can be open to culture too, D. Čivle expressed in the committee hearing.

Saeima Press Service

Alongside Riga, Umeå is also to be European Capital of Culture in 2014. In order to work on joint projects and exchange plans, colleagues from the Umeå office visited Riga on April 24 and 25.

A very good level of cooperation has developed between the organizers of Latvia and Sweden’s cultural capitals, and they are working on joint events, as well as unifying international communications and offers for tour operators. Every year, two cities become European Capitals of Culture and they traditionally develop complementary cultural programmes. Their geographical proximity and direct flights are a good prerequisite for the close link between Riga and Umeå.

The programmes of both cities have various points of contact – for example, our Swedish colleagues want to draw from our experience in organizing the Staro Rīga festival of light, which has become Northern Europe’s largest festival of this type in a matter of years. Cooperation on the festival of light began in 2011 and continues to evolve. In 2014, Umeå will focus on the culture of Europe’s North, and the two cities are planning joint events on Sami and Liv culture. Another axis of cooperation is to be the Survival Kit contemporary art festival.

During the visit, our colleagues from Umeå also paid a trip to Sigulda, Riga’s partner city during the European Capital of Culture year, and they were pleasantly surprised by the wide range of culture on offer, as well as Sigulda’s stunning nature.

Just like Riga, Umeå is also developing its European Capital of Culture Programme to strengthen long-term cultural processes and create networks of cultural operators, who will continue contributing to the development of the city after 2014.

The latest info on Umeå’s 2014 programme is available at: www.umea2014.se

Riga is planning to submit its candidacy for the honour of World Book Capital 2018. To fulfil this ambitious intention and promote book reading through other events, a work group by the name of “The Book Will Be,” was established on April 23.

The Rīga|2014 Foundation has gathered the strongest representatives of the book, publishing and library sectors, as well as UNESCO, Riga City Council and Ministry of Culture officials, with the aim of providing a long-term perspective for the book publishing industry, bringing the book and the reader closer together.

The work group’s creation date was not left to chance, since April 23 is celebrated globally as World Book and Copyright Day, and on this particular day the baton was passed to the next World Book Capital – this year, Erevan in Armenia.

The Rīga|2014 Foundation has assumed the functions of work group coordinator, since the book also comprises a significant role in the 2014 programme. The organizers of the European Capital of Culture year are working with new initiatives to strengthen long-term cultural processes, and they are confident of the positive influence of book publishing on social developments. 2014 will serve as a milestone and platform for preparations to build a strong application bid for Riga in 2018.

The title of World Book Capital in 2018 would be an excellent addition to the country’s centenary celebrations, focusing worldwide attention on the names of Riga and Latvia. Book industry representatives emphasized the role of this title in highlighting the unique book publishing traditions of Latvia, making it possible to develop interesting content for the cultural calendar and analyse the newest trends in literature.  Begun early, the work will also allow the city to carry out research on reading traditions and various aspects of events promoting reading.

More on the World Book Capital programme on the UNESCO website.

Contact person of “The Book Will Be,” work group, Head of the Rīga|2014 Programme Aiva Rozenberga (e-mail aiva.rozenberga@riga2014.org, mob.phone +371 29462451).

Rīga|2014 has created a large map of the world with plastic bottle caps collected by the people. The 90 countries of the world that are involved in the cleanup movement have been especially marked out on the map. A photograph of the map in card form will be sent to all the countries hosting a Big Cleanup this year with greetings from Latvia and Riga as European Capital of Culture 2014.

People engaged in the collection of bottle caps with great enthusiasm. Rīga|2014 volunteers and others spent several hours creating a mosaic – one of the largest such pieces in the world. The 54 square metre map marks the 90 countries of the world that are involved in the cleanup movement with colourful bottle caps, while white bottle caps indicate those not yet taking part.

In a little less than a month, residents of Latvia collected over a million plastic bottle caps. The number of bottle caps collected far exceeded the amount necessary to create the map, and demonstrated the willingness of the population to get involved in sorting waste. All the bottle caps collected were handed over for recycling.

Liene Poporocka, collector of the most bottle caps, was singled out at the festive ceremony marking the map’s completion. Her contribution was 40 thousand bottle caps.

The collection of bottle caps was part of an educational campaign calling for waste to be sorted. The first to participate in the campaign with his bottle cap was composer Raimonds Pauls.

Foundation Rīga|2014 has issued Afiša – a newsletter about spring and summer events in the Creative Quarters of Riga.

The printed edition of Afiša is available in the Creative Quarters and at various locations of Riga events, or in the office of Riga|2014 at Riga Congress Hall. Afiša is planned to be issued on a regular basis and the second edition can be expected in autumn.

Among the first people to receive the newsletter were the visitors of VEF Creative Quarter on March 31, when the Creative Neighbourhood season was opened with the major event Creative Quarters warms up Riga|2014 at VEF.

More about Riga Creative Quarters, their inhabitants and upcoming events: http://radosiekvartali.wordpress.com

The first edition about the activities of Riga Creative Quarters – Creative Quarters of Riga 2011-2012 – was published in 2011. It was the publication of a study done by Architect Ieva Zībārte exploring young entrepreneurs, curators of cultural processes, artists, architects and house owners, whose activities have had a positive impact on the urban environment. Published by Foundation Riga|2014.

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Tomorrow, March 7, the foundation Riga|2014 will welcome the representatives of European Film Award organisers. In a one-day working visit, the European Film Academy Director Marion Döring and the EFA Productions Executive Producer Jürgen Biesinger will arrive in Riga.

Every two years, the European Film Award ceremony is held in Berlin, while during the other years, the place of activity is chosen separately. In 2014, Riga as the European Capital of Culture has evoked the interest of award organisers as a possible place for the award nomination ceremony. During the introductory visit, the representatives of the academy will visit the places of activities, as well as will meet with the Minister for Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Žanete Jaunzeme-Grende and Vice Mayor of Riga Andris Ameriks.

The European Film Award nomination ceremony hosts about one and a half thousand guests in relation to the film industry – academy members, directors, actors, whose activities and received nominations in 17 categories are displayed by more than 250 international mass media sources.

The greatest mass media and public attention is drawn to the lifelong contribution, received so far by such recognisable names as Judi Dench, Sean Connery and Roman Polanski. Up to now, the ceremonies have taken place in London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Warsaw and Copenhagen. In 2010, the European Film, called also “The European Oscar”, award was presented in Tallinn, this year it will be Malta.

Additional information: www.europeanfilmawards.eu

Thank you HOTEL BERGS!