The annual Nordic Days, organised in cooperation with the embassy of Denmark, embassy of Norway, embassy of Finland, and embassy of Sweden in Latvia and the Danish Cultural Institute, took place in Daugavpils. The diverse and extensive programme ranged from practical workshops for youngsters and lectures for professionals of various fields to screenings of Nordic films and premiere of a theatre production in Daugavpils.
October 2 can be considered the first day of the happening – opening of the first exhibitions at the Latgale Central Library, Daugavpils University and Daugavpils Study and Research Centre of the Riga Technical University. However, the ambassadors’ visit to the city and meeting with local government and school representatives have traditionally been the central event. The ambassadors arrived in Daugavpils on October 15 and due to the saturated programme stayed for several days. On the same week, representatives of other organisations also gathered in Daugavpils, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia, the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Latvia, the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE), “Centrs MARTA”, “Patvērums “Drošā māja””, the State Police and other institutions and organisations partnering with the Nordic countries.
“Daugavpils is the place where eight years ago – in 2016 – the tradition of arranging annual Nordic Days in a regional city of Latvia was born. Opening our office in Daugavpils in 2021, the idea was to strengthen the Nordic presence and profile in the whole region of Latgale. Besides the beautiful nature and the warm-hearted people, this region holds a huge potential in terms of development opportunities, including cooperation with the Nordics. I try to visit Daugavpils and Latgale as often as possible, each time discovering new aspects of this fascinating and welcoming region. This year the programme of Nordic Days will be richer than in previous years, inviting everyone in Daugavpils and beyond to meet and learn more about the Nordics."
- Stefan Eriksson, Director of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia
On the first day, the ambassadors, the director of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ office in Latvia and staff from the Danish Cultural Institute met with representatives of Daugavpils local municipality, and on October 16, with representatives of the Augšdaugava municipality. They also visited Daugavpils State Gymnasium and Daugavpils Technology Secondary School-Lyceum. They met with headmasters of the two schools and students of grade 11 and 12, discussing the importance of learning foreign languages and of a quality education in general. They gladly answered questions about the Nordic countries, opportunities for education and work abroad and the specifics of diplomatic work.
Continuous close cooperation with the Daugavpils city council, Augšdaugava municipality, Daugavpils University, the Rothko Museum and other local institutions gave a chance to hold events of the Nordic Days at various locations in the city. For example, selection of Nordic films by the Riga International Film Festival (“Riga IFF”) were screened at the Rothko Museum – “The Missile” (Finland), “The Girl with the Needle” (Denmark), “Crossing” (Denmark and Sweden) and “Armand” (Norway). Additional selection of Nordic movies was screened at the “Vārpa” cultural centre free of charge.
Musical highlight of the Nordic Days was a concert by the Danish jazz quintet “Barkmann with Strings” at the Unity House. The free concert offered by the Danish Cultural Institute attracted jazz enthusiasts from beyond Daugavpils – also from other towns in Latgale. Another bright cultural event was the children’s play “Brown Cheese”. This show has long been popular in Riga, with tickets selling out fast. With the support from the Norwegian embassy, during the Nordic Days the play at the Daugavpils Innovation Centre was available for free.
The most prominent cultural event of Nordic Days was a specially created new production “Someone Will Surely Come” (in Latgalian – “Kaids nūteikti atīs”, original title in Norwegian – “Nokon kjem til å kome”) at the Daugavpils theatre., this contemporary play performed in Latgalian language garnered significant interest several weeks before its premiere. The inclusion of work by Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature last year, in the repertoire of Daugavpils Theatre is no coincidence. Director Oļegs Šapošņikovs saw a great potential in making the play suggested by Stefan Eriksson a valued addition to the programme of the theatre. Fosse writes in Nynorsk, a dialect of the official Norwegian language close to Latgalian in terms of number of active users.
Most of the Nordic-themed exhibitions remained open to the public until the end of October. Among those were posters by artist Yuri Tatarkin depicting outcomes of a youth initiative project implemented this summer in cooperation with the European Movement Latvia. The exhibition was available free of charge at the Latgale Central Library.
Nordic Days are held each autumn in a different town in Latvia in order to promote the Nordic countries and their culture outside the capital. Moreover, the events help establishing mutual connections and strengthening regional cooperation between municipalities, entrepreneurs, cultural institutions and non-governmental organisations. Last year, Nordic Days took place in Bauska. Events of the Nordic Days were covered by several regional media outlets and local newspapers.
Photo: Anžela Spiridonova, Chayka.lv.
