The conference was titled "Education: From Mediocrity to Excellence".
"One of the Bank of Latvia's tasks is to take care of long-term stability, laying the foundations for a prosperous country's future. This is not possible without a well-educated, globally competitive new generation. Therefore, the Bank of Latvia is devoting its annual economic conference this time to education," the bank said in an explanation of why it considered education policy to be within its remit.
Opening the conference was President Raimonds Vējonis, who told his audience:
"Latvia is a modern and stable country that continues along a growth path. In the last 25 years, Latvia has been able to become a medium-wealth country. In order to become a prosperous country and not to end this development, education is and will be a decisive factor. Therefore, I call for faster and more decisive decisions and changes to improve the education system."
The President noted that education is the foundation of every person's values and beliefs, opening up opportunities and new horizons and allowing people to create change and shape the future. Everyone should have access to quality education regardless of their place of residence, income or social status, he said.
"Quality education is the only future path to a strong state and a strong, united society. Educational content needs to be adapted to tomorrow's challenges. At the same time, today's changing world demands that each of us continuously develop, acquire new knowledge and acquire new skills throughout our lives," the President said.
Here is a promotional video (in Latvian) LB made about the conference.
