More than 13,000 students across Latvia strengthened their knowledge of the Constitution

On Monday, 21 November, the joint educational campaign for students “Me, You and the Constitution”, dedicated to the centenary of the Constitution and organized by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Science, concluded. The campaign took place from February to November and involved 138 Constitution Ambassadors.

The campaign gave students throughout Latvia the opportunity to meet Constitution Ambassadors—legal professionals representing various institutions, the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, the legal profession, the Saeima and many other fields. During the campaign, the Constitution Ambassadors visited 219 schools in different parts of Latvia to introduce students, through guest lectures, to Latvia’s fundamental law, the values enshrined in it, and the legal profession.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns states: “The purpose of the Constitution is to unite people through shared values. For the Constitution to be a living document, everyone must know what it says and what values are enshrined in the country’s fundamental law. These values must be passed down from generation to generation—only then will we be a strong country. Latvia’s legal community has made a significant contribution to improving our students’ understanding of the fundamental state values contained in the Constitution. The aim of our educational campaign was to reach everyone, so the Constitution Ambassadors visited schools throughout Latvia to meet and speak with all students in the classroom. I thank the Constitution Ambassadors, because even highly qualified legal professionals faced the challenge of presenting themselves in a new capacity during the campaign.”

The campaign organizers are proud of its results, as the educational initiative covered almost all of Latvia—34 municipalities and 10 state cities. In total, the Constitution Ambassadors delivered 380 guest lectures, meeting with more than 13 000 students. Feedback from schools shows that meetings with the Constitution Ambassadors were a very valuable addition to the learning process, as the legal professionals were able to explain such an important subject as the Constitution and its significance in our daily lives in a way that students could understand. The campaign organizers repeatedly received messages from schools stating that campaigns of this kind should be continued, not only because they provide additional knowledge about the country’s fundamental law, but also because the legal professionals—Constitution Ambassadors—are inspiring, intelligent, active and friendly people who may have encouraged some young people to consider a career in law.

The Constitution Ambassadors also praised the implementation of the educational campaign and highly valued the students’ willingness to participate in discussions and their existing basic knowledge of the Constitution. As with the schools, the Constitution Ambassadors likewise indicated that educational activities of this kind in schools are valuable and should be continued.  

At the conclusion of the campaign, the Constitution Ambassadors met at the Latvian National History Museum to look back at what they had accomplished together during the campaign and, continuing the process of learning about the Constitution from a historical perspective, to view the exhibition “Constitution 100+” created by the museum.