Latvia receives “Oscar” of the event industry

  • 2019-03-28
  • TBT Staff

On the 26th of March, the Latvian centenary program “Latvian School Bag” opening event “100 Latvian Stories in 100 Minutes”, organized by Inese Lukashevska, the producer and founder of the Luka agency, was awarded in 5 categories and accorded the title of “Best Concert” on a global level in the prestigious Eventex Awards competition. Within the event industry the Eventex Awards is considered to be as significant as the Oscars is in the film industry. This is the first time in the competition’s history that Latvia wins the highest prize.

331 events from 42 countries participated this year in the Eventex Awards competition. Each entry was assessed by an international jury of more than 50 people - including Laura Schwartz, Director of Events for the Clinton Administration; David Adler, C.E.O. and Founder of the Washington Dossier and BizBash magazine, and other experts and professionals of the industry - editors from leading event magazines, heads of associations, and representatives of convention bureaus of various countries. Every entry was evaluated on a scale from 1 to 10 according to three key criteria: innovation and creativity, planning, and effectiveness and results. Entries were submitted by such well known brands as Google, Lamborghini and Mercedes-Benz. In total the event “100 Latvian Stories in 100 Minutes” was awarded in 5 categories and accorded the title of “Best Concert” on a global level. In the category “Best Art event” it has won 2nd place, and in the categories “Best Culture event”, “Best Live show”, “Best European event” was on the 3rd place.

Inese Lukashevska, the idea author and producer of the “Latvian School Bag” opening event, comments that winning a first place in the Eventex Awards is a huge achievement not only for her agency, but also for the Latvian event industry and country in general, as this is a testimony to the scope and intellectual ability of Latvians to rival at a global level.

“I am really proud of everyone involved in the creation process of this event. It was a very complicated task from a technical, security and artistic point of view, a huge challenge even for people working in the event industry over 20 years. I am deeply thankful to the Ministry of Culture and to the Education, Culture and Sports Department of Riga City Council. I would like also to thank the entire team that has worked on this project and has trusted in me and my abilities - from the very beginning they believed that we will reach the hearts not only of 6000 attending children, but also the hearts of event industry professionals around the globe. This is a tremendous achievement, I still cannot believe this is really happening. However, it confirms that with hard work, self-esteem, love for the public and belief in our own abilities, the highest results can be achieved. We proved once again that Latvia is a unique country where many talented, gifted and extraordinary people live, who are proud of their country and the opportunity to represent it on the world stage,” comments Inese Lukashevska, the event producer and founder of the Luka agency.

On the 6th of September 2018 “Latvian School Bag” opening event “100 Latvian Stories in 100 Minutes” at Arena Riga gathered together 6000 students from 110 Latvian regions. The event illustrated Latvian history, culture, traditions and values from a contemporary perspective and encouraged everyone towards continuous self-development and inner growth, and by so doing creating the future of Latvia. Simultaneously, the aim was in a creative way to introduce Latvian culture, history and art to the Latvian youth and demonstrate that Latvia is a land full of opportunities and creativity, where everyone can fulfill their ideas and dreams, regardless of the background or social status.

The opening event was organized by the Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council.

The creative event team were : producer - Inese Lukashevska; director - Mirdza Zivere; artistic directors – Janis Kirsis (concert), Inese Lukashevska (exhibition); conductor - Janis Liepins; choreographer - Agris Danilevich; technical producer - Reinis Druvietis; scenographer - Didzis Jaunzems; sound director - Normunds Slava; light director - Oskars Paulins; costume consultant - Baiba Grina; host - Valters Fridenbergs; video artists - Artis Dzerve, Viktors Keino; project manager - Kristine Skvarnavicha.