LAMPA warm-up event in Purvciems, Riga

Only two months to go until the Conversation festival LAMPA! The second, final warm-up event will be held in Riga, offering mayoral candidate debates, three exciting discussions and a brain-teasing program for kids. The all-day event will take place on May 20th, starting at noon in Purvciems, the suburb of Riga – in the courtyard of an apartment complex at Dzelzavas iela 25.

The day in the Purvciema courtyard will, uncharacteristically, launch with the Riga mayoral candidate debate. At 12:15 candidates from the Greens and Farmers Union, the Harmony/Honour to Serve Riga combined party list, the National Union of ‘Visu Latvijai!” and “TB/LNNK”, the Unity party, the Latvia Union of Regions and For Latvia’s Development combined party list, To Latvia from the Heart, KPV LV and the New Conservative Party will compete for the hearts and minds of Riga voters. The debate will be moderated by political scientist Ivars Ījabs. We expect that the venue will also impact the conversation, and these conversations will take place figuratively and literally at the “grassroots level”, close to the people.

Organised by Swedbank Latvia, the first discussion, “Will a Robot Steal Your Child’s Job?” will take place at 14:00. Part one of the discussion will feature experts and employers discussing their experiences with new technologies, including using robots as assistants and as a potential work force replacement. They will be sharing their views on the skills needed in the workforce of the future. The discussion will be moderated by Maksims Jegorovs, director of the Accenture Latvia office. Participants will include four corporate leaders – Vadims Frolovs, Board member at Swedbank Latvia, Andrejs Vasiljevs, Chairman of the Board at Tilde, Guntis Grandāns, Director of the Seeds and Plants division at Latvia’s State Forest, Ivars Svilāns, Director of Corporate Relations at Maxima Latvija.

Part two of the discussion will focus on the opportunities of tomorrow, in other words, how an excellent education is key to ensuring a proper knowledge and skills base for the job market of the future. Emīls Sundjukovs, Director of the IT Education foundation Start (IT), Edgars Bajaruns, Senior Expert, National Center for Education project "Competence based approach in teaching", Ernests Sviklis, Director and history teacher, Rīga High School Nr. 64, Ance Jaks, teacher, Jelgava State Gymnasium, alumnus of the Mission Possible program, will all share their positive experiences and future plans, including also ideas for parent-teacher cooperation for skills improvement. Pauls Irbins, Director of the Cēsis Science Centre Zinoo, will moderate this lively discussion.

At 15:45 bloggers and journalists will discuss the impact of the internet and competition with the media, especially television, in the discussion “Can the Internet Replace Television: Bloggers vs. Journalists” organised by LTV Русское вещание. The discussion will be in Russian, with simultaneous interpretation to Latvian.

The talented social anthropologist Viesturs Celmiņš will close out the day at 17:15 with a conversation “The Question of Home in Riga” about future perspectives for homes in large-scale apartment dwelling neighbourhoods.

Intellectually taxed minds will be able to relax at the close of the program with a concert, from 18:45 to 20:00. A special program will be available for children, with Brain Games board games, a bubble show, and creative workshops by homo ecos. Rumour has it that the Swedish Embassy will be helping Karlsson down from the rooftop for a surprise visit.

Parallel to other events, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a game ‘Try on an Idea!’, where they can try on for size various political ideas, and test which ones fit best. This game has been developed by the Foundation for an Open Society DOTS, together with the playwright Matīss Gricmanis.

This LAMPA warm-up event is organised with a kind support of the Society Integration Foundation, Foundation for an Open Society DOTS, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Swedbank Latvia, British Council and Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation.

The event is financially supported by the Society Integration Foundation from the resources of the state budget of Latvia.