Creative Activity Week radi!2017 to delight with an extensive programme of events

In October, the annual Creative Activity Week radi! will take place throughout Latvia, aiming to highlight local achievements, as well as the potential of the creative and cultural industries and their interaction with other sectors. This year, the central events of Creative Activity Week will take place from 9 to 15 October, while various related satellite events in Riga and the regions are planned over a period of more than a month. Everyone is invited to familiarise themselves with the radi!2017 events calendar and participate in the upcoming discussions, seminars, workshops, think tanks, conferences and other engaging, conveniently accessible activities involving thinking, working and creating together.

One of the first events to launch Creative Activity Week radi!2017 is the annual “Reinholds Šmēlings Conference — Livable City Forum Riga”, which will take place from 4 to 6 October and will focus on adapting architecture and the urban environment to the development of modern scientific centres. This year’s main topic will be “How to Create a Successful City: Architecture and Urban Planning in the Knowledge Economy”, and throughout the day the conference speakers will examine such elements of the knowledge economy as academic centres, knowledge and technology quarters, and an urban environment that promotes innovation.

On 5 October at 12:00, the second of four discussions in the discussion series on the role of design in public administration, business, education and the formation of the country’s reputation will also take place. This time, the participants in the discussion “Design and Business” will talk about design as a strategic tool in business—both design competence in the development of companies in various sectors and in the context of economic processes on a national scale. The discussion will be attended by Minister of Economics Arvils Ašeradens and various business representatives—Ingmārs Pūķis, Aldis Circenis, Alise Baltgalve and others.

From 9 to 14 October, the University of Latvia’s SECOND VISUAL LITERACY WEEK 2017 will also take place. Its aim is to encourage interest in the importance of visual literacy in today’s world of images and, inspired by cultural heritage, to create new ideas and lasting values. Throughout the week, various lectures and creative activities will take place every afternoon, providing a broad overview of visual-literacy issues and their contexts in the educational process.

From 9 to 15 October, the annual UNESCO Week will also take place under the radi!2017 banner. Knowledge of the country’s diverse natural and cultural heritage is an invaluable resource for inspiration, innovation and development; therefore, this year’s UNESCO Week will focus on “Cultural Heritage in Use”. As part of the week, the UNESCO Latvian National Commission invites people to explore topics where tangible and intangible cultural heritage meet in everyday life, with particular emphasis on the importance of culinary heritage and the opportunities it provides for promoting sustainable tourism.

On Wednesday, 11 October, the premises of the Latvian Academy of Art will host an educational lecture, “Fashion and New Technologies—Contemporary Trends”, featuring French expert Claire Eliot. Innovative textiles are a topic that the French Institute is offering as part of Creative Activity Week radi!; the artist has been invited to share her experience of working with interactive textiles and her passion for fashion and new technologies.

Also on 11 October, the “BalTicket Partnership and Creativity Forum” will take place as part of radi!2017, inviting event organisers to share their knowledge and experience of reaching their target audiences and making effective use of digital marketing opportunities. The forum will explain how to reach and persuade audiences in this age of information overload. Industry experts taking part will include Untitled board member Mārcis Gulbis, POSITIVUS festival organiser Ģirts Majors, and one of Latvia’s leading social-media and digital-marketing experts, Artūrs Mednis, among others.

By contrast, on 12 October, everyone interested is invited, subject to prior registration, to attend the conference “Riga: Empty Space + Creative Industries = Creative Place-Making?” on the development potential of abandoned buildings and the creative industries. The conference and creative workshops will bring together opinion leaders, experts, practitioners, developers and civil-society representatives from Latvia, Germany, Denmark and France who are able to assess the potential of empty buildings and recognise spatial planning and support for creative industries as an opportunity for a new beginning and for Riga’s economic development.

The full Creative Activity Week events calendar, with more detailed descriptions and registration links, is available on the website http://www.radilatvija.lv/lv/notikumi. News about radi!2017 is also available on social media on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. #radilv. radi!2017 publicity materials are available in the media folder: http://ej.uz/radi_mediju_mape.

Initiators of Creative Activity Week radi!: the Ministry of Culture and the British Council’s office in Latvia. Strategic partners: Northern Dimension Partnership in Culture, UNESCO Latvian National Commission, Danish Cultural Institute, French Institute, Goethe-Institut in Latvia, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Latvian Academy of Art. Event partners: Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia, Embassy of Denmark in Latvia, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Chancellery, School of Public Administration, Latvian Institute, Riga City Architect’s Office, creative industries platform FOLD, Riga Planning Region, Vidzeme Planning Region, Creative Industries Business Incubator, Latvian Music Export Association, Latvian Academy of Culture, University of Latvia, Creativity Lab, The Red Jackets, Design Elevator, Urban Institut, NP Properties (Sporta 2), Biļešu serviss, Social Entrepreneurship Association, Valmiera City Council, Valmiera Development Agency, Liepāja City Council, Liepāja Culture Department, Liepāja Business Incubator and others.