On 8-10 June, Karen Ellemann, the Secretary-General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, visited Latvia. In addition to visiting the NCM office in Riga and meeting with the employees, K. Ellemann participated in the Latvian conversation festival LAMPA. This festival, inspired by the Nordic democracy festivals, is taking place in the castle park of the historical Latvian town of Cēsis.
This year, the Nordic embassies and NCM Office in Latvia jointly participated in LAMPA with a collaborative Nordic stage called "Ziemeļsala" (Nordic Island). The Nordic stage hosted a variety of discussions on topics such as urban agriculture, food waste, wind energy, children's care, and democracy. Raimonds Čudars, Latvia's Minister for Climate and Energy, participated in one of the panels, and Latvia's Prime Minister, Krišjānis Kariņš, also visited the Nordic stage.
The Secretary-General herself participated in a "Nordic Talk” panel discussion which focused on regional Nordic-Baltic cooperation in the face of geopolitical transformations. The panel included Professor Hilmar Hilmarsson from Akureyri University, Daria Krivonos from the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, and a research fellow of the Latvian Institute of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gints Jegermanis.
The Nordic tent at the festival also featured various practical activities and games aimed at promoting and engaging in discussions about democracy. For example, a Latvian version of the Democracy Cake game, originally developed by the Norwegian Rafto Foundation, was presented as a unique and fun way to learn about democracy. Kai Alhanen from the Finnish Dialogue Academy conducted practical dialogues according to his concept, in collaboration with the Latvian State Chancellery. As part of the project Women in War, conversations were organized where women shared their stories about how they have been affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
During the festival, Karen Ellemann had bilateral talks with Gunda Reire, the parliamentary secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, discussing the importance of Nordic-Baltic regional cooperation in the context of the changing security policy situation in Europe. She also had a conversation with Evika Siliņa, the Latvian Minister of Welfare, who is actively engaged in issues related to violence against women and children – an area of focus for a recent Nordic-Baltic cooperation project.
The LAMPA festival serves as a meeting place for the entire Latvian society, and the Secretary General had spontaneous conversations with representatives from Latvian institutions, NGOs, and political parties. Additionally, she gave an interview to the Latvian news agency LETA.
