Former President Valdis Zatlers and international experts to seek a way out of polarization in society at the LAMPA Conversation Festival

On July 11, the international panel discussion “Light through the Crack: Conversation in a Polarised Society” will take place as part of the LAMPA Conversation Festival. In the discussion, former President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers, together with Latvian and international experts, will seek answers to one of the greatest challenges of modern democracy — how to preserve meaningful dialogue and reduce hatred amid growing political, ideological, and linguistic divisions.

The discussion will take place at 14:00 on Stage No. 28 “DZIRKSTELE” (Cēsis). It will be held in English, and real-time translation into Latvian will be provided. The event is organized by the civic organization “Russian Voice for Latvia” with the support of the Foundation for Open Society DOTS and the Society Integration Foundation (SIF).

The discussion will examine both international examples and the Latvian context. Participating in the discussion will be:

Valdis Zatlers — President of the Republic of Latvia (2007–2011);

Kai Alhanen — Director of the Dialogue Academy (Finland);

Maksims Levčenko — Head Researcher at the association “Russian Voice for Latvia”;

Sabīne Sīle — Vice-President of the Board of the Civic Alliance - Latvia, Director of “Media Hub Riga”.

The discussion will be moderated by Kata Fredheim, Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy and Associate Professor at SSE Riga.

“We want to provide a fresh perspective on the problem of polarization, which is becoming increasingly relevant every year. We want to look at ourselves and the society we live in through the prism of global experience, as polarization is a challenge faced not only by Latvia,” noted Martins Levuškāns, Chairperson of the Board of the association “Russian Voice for Latvia,” on his Facebook page.

During the event, the first insights from a unique Latvian study on “meta-polarization,” conducted by the association “Russian Voice for Latvia” with the support of the Society Integration Foundation, will also be presented. The study reveals a significant perception gap: preliminary data shows that the actual differences in opinions between Latvian- and Russian-speaking residents are much smaller than what the societal groups attribute to each other. This exaggerated perception significantly fuels unnecessary tension and distrust. The results of the study will be published in the autumn.

A Q&A session is planned after the discussion, where attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers.

Additional information about the event:

- LAMPA website: https://festivalslampa.lv/lv/pasakums/3202

- Facebook: https://fb.me/e/4xTVq9a1y