Latvians abroad
From the neighboring countries of Lithuania and Estonia to far-flung Thailand and South Korea, this year Latvian communities around the world will celebrate Jāņi (Midsummer) in at least 50 events in 21 countries, according to information collected by diaspora media Latviesi.com.
The north-eastern Estonian region of Ida-Viru is dropping efforts to attract tourists from Russia and will instead be promoting its attractions to Latvians, reports Estonia's ERR News.
On 31 July 2021, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, and the Ambassador-at-Large for the Diaspora, Elita Gavele, took part in a meeting of members of the Union of European Latvians (ELA) to mark its 70th anniversary, the Ministry said in a release.
On 5 February 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted an online presentation of the most recent research by the Centre for the Diaspora and Migration Studies of the University of Latvia (LU DMPC), “Attracting the young members of the diaspora to education institutions in Latvia”, with participation of its authors, Dr. Rita Kaša and Dr. Olga Cara.
One in ten members of the Latvian expat community currently living in the United Kingdom has considered emigrating during the COVID-19 pandemic according to an online survey conducted by Mārtiņš Kaprāns, a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the University of Latvia.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and the 29th anniversary of Latvia’s accession to the United Nations, an exhibition titled “Baltic Appeal to the United Nations” and jointly produced by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, the National Archives of Latvia and the Latvian National Library was unveiled on 18 September 2020.