The Creative Activity Week radi!2017 will once again take place throughout Latvia

This autumn, the Creative Activity Week radi!2017 will take place for the seventh consecutive year, with the aim of highlighting our country’s progressive ideas, strong talents, long-standing experience and initiatives, jointly laying the foundations for the next centenary of the Latvian state—an open, creative, smart and innovative one. The Creative Activity Week will take place from 9 to 15 October, while various satellite events related to it in Riga and other regions of Latvia are also planned for more than a month before and after the week itself. Everyone interested is invited to register their event for the radi!2017 programme and participate in interactive events throughout Latvia.

The main message of the Latvian centenary programme is “I AM LATVIA”, and it is imbued with the theme of participation: “I create Latvia. I make Latvia.” In 2017, the key word of the national celebrations is WILL, symbolising every resident of Latvia as part of its creation process. Getting ready for the centenary of the state, radi!2017 encourages people to actively participate in “creating” modern-day Latvia and polishing its values. Thus, the programme of events will feature a range of interactive activities aimed at highlighting local achievements, the potential of the creative and cultural industries and their interaction with other sectors, emphasising the importance of innovative entrepreneurship, education and smart governance. Significantly, until now the Creative Activity Week radi!2017 had taken place in spring, but this year, as the country’s anniversary is ushered in, it will be held in autumn for the first time.

“In the vast space of global communication, the latest trends cannot go unnoticed. They are unequivocally directed towards change and development, using a smart approach, minimalism and effective methods. And above all, however, the most important thing is THE HUMAN BEING. Only a person can create, approach complex matters creatively, promote re-newal, motivate people to learn and apply long-recognised things much more broadly than is customary. These are the values that radi! partners not only think and talk about, but also act on, encouraging everyone else to join them. It does not matter whether we are talking about abandoned buildings that can become co-creation spaces, smart governance that, using design-thinking methods, will help increase well-being, or participation and dispelling prejudices among people who think differently—in the centre of everything there is always the Human Being. This year, too, radi! will continue its conversations with everyone who cares about Latvia’s future,” says Lilita Sparāne, Head of the Creative Industries Division at the Ministry of Culture, describing this year’s events.

As before, this year every resident of Latvia is invited to take part in the forthcoming discussions, seminars, workshops, think tanks, conferences, hackathons and other engaging, accessible activities for thinking, working and creating together. Likewise, local creators, visionaries, entrepreneurs and representatives of various governmental and non-governmental organisations are invited to join radi!2017 and register their event for the joint Creative Activity Week programme by 26 September. radi! aims to be open to new partnerships among people, organisations, disciplines, municipalities and ideas about how the creative industries contribute to improving and developing people’s lives. Further information, the calendar of forthcoming events and the registration form can be found on the official radi! website at www.radilatvija.lv

radi!2017 focus areas this year: Interaction between the creative industries and other sectors, including highlighting their potential and involvement in progressive and innovative entrepreneurship, the Baltic Sea region’s social welfare, quality of life and urban development; Design-thinking methods and an interdisciplinary approach in public administration and education, promoting a knowledge-based future for Latvia and jointly creating a working environment centred on the needs of residents; as well as the active involvement of Latvia’s regions and their residents, national minorities and young people, expressing the idea that every resident of Latvia is part of the country’s creation process and thus emphasising the idea of participation, fostering interest and strengthening dialogue.

Updates on the Creative Activity Week radi!2017 can be followed on the website www.radilatvija.lv, as well as on social media: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. #radilv.

Initiators of the Creative Activity Week radi! : the Ministry of Culture and the British Council in Latvia.

Strategic partners: the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture, the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO, the Danish Cultural Institute, the French Institute and the Goethe-Institut in Latvia.

Event partners: the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia, the Ministry of Economics, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Chancellery, the School of Public Administration, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, the Latvian Institute, the Riga City Architect’s Office, the creative industries platform FOLD, the Riga Planning Region, the Vidzeme Planning Region, the Creative Industries Business Incubator, the Latvian Music Export Association, the Art Academy of Latvia, the Latvian Academy of Culture, the University of Latvia, Creativity Lab, The Red Jackets, Design Elevator, Biļešu serviss, the Social Entrepreneurship Association, Valmiera City Council, the Valmiera Development Agency, Liepāja City Council, the Liepāja Cultural Administration, the Liepāja Business Incubator and others.