Visitors to the festival told Latvian Television that the atmosphere was reminiscent of a music festival, where the choice of different activities made for a dynamic and full day.
In the crowded hall of the Līgatne Creative Quarter, the participants listen attentively to the speakers, taking notes every now and then in their notebooks, computers or phones. On this day, everything is focused on the idea of writing. Monta, a festival-goer from Riga, says: "It's self-expression above all. Writing makes it easier to process both emotions and feelings; it's also possible to change your perspective on life." Ariela, from Riga, adds: "Writing is like another sphere. Now I may not be able to find the right words, but it's like drawing or painting. It's instant, but through the mind, sight and sometimes hearing, and it's both in the mind and on paper."
Among the visitors and panelists at Writival, there are also those who have been writing for a long time. Writer and poet Māra Zālīte said: "You can look at it whichever way you want, but writing is the foundation of all Latvian culture, and it is determined by language, and the writer uses language, and that is why all our classical literature, without which we would not be who we are - Brigadere or Blaumanis, or Aspazija, Rainis - writing is very important and the word has great power."
Writer Māris Bērziņš emphasizes that it is always interesting to meet, especially for writers, who mostly sit in their cells and think and write: "Here, however, there are meetings and conversations, from which perhaps some spark and some insights emerge."
Writer Inga Grencberga added: "I have a notebook and today I walked around all day and wrote down what my writing sisters and brothers said; very, very valuable."
Writer Haralds Matulis says about the atmosphere of the festival: "It feels like you are at a music or film festival. You don't even have the chance to go to everything you want, and then you have to choose. It's such a cool festive feeling."
The talks and workshops covered a wide range of topics, from the development of children and young people to the impact of artificial intelligence.
Writer Inga Žolude, the organizer of "Rakstivāls", says: "The main goal is, first of all, to celebrate the written word. Secondly, to draw attention to how important it is, especially for a relatively small language like Latvian. Even in this context, though, we have been talking for many years or decades about, say, globalization and the influence of the English language. In the last couple of years, we have also been paying particular attention to how text or information can be used against us."
The organizers hope that the writing festival could become an annual tradition in the Cēsis region - with the future aim of attracting international visitors.
