Latvian Foreign Ministry to mark Europe Day with Open Door Event

RIGA - On Europe Day, May 9, the Latvian Foreign Ministry will welcome school and university students and people from all walks of life to participate in the traditional Open Doors Day to explore European countries, take part in various quizzes, see an exhibition and join a debate on Europe's future, the ministry announced.

The event will start at 12.50 p.m., with a musical performance offered by the Diplomatic Choir.

At 13.05. a.m., the Parliamentary Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica, will address the audience attending Europe's birthday celebration and present awards to the winners of the "European Union in My Region" video competition. The winning videos will be presented for viewing in the ministry's lobby.

From noon to 4 p.m. the embassies of Azerbaijan, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Ukraine will welcome the visitors to their "Get to Know Europe" stands at the Foreign Ministry to inform them about culture, people, traditions and the tourism offer of those countries.

The Consular Department will provide tips on how to travel safely in Europe.

At 1:30 p.m. visitors are welcome to join in a discussion, "The ways forward for the European Union: Latvia's perspective", with a participation of Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission; Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica, Foreign Ministry's Parliamentary Secretary; Assoc. Prof. Iveta Reinholde from the University of Latvia; and Mihails Potapovs, a student of the Political Science Department of the Social Sciences Faculty at the University of Latvia.

For the second consecutive year, the visitors will also have the opportunity to look at students' drawings creatively and boldly featuring the young people's wishes for the European Union. The authors of this year's works are 9 to 12-grade students of the Dundaga Secondary School. The drawings, "Our wishes for Europe", will be on display outside the ministry building in Riga center.

From May 5 onwards, the Foreign Ministry's building will be illuminated in the blue and yellow of the European Union flag, symbolizing Europe's shared values - freedom, peace, and solidarity.

The Foreign Ministry is organizing its Europe Day open door event in cooperation with the embassies of the EU Member States and the Eastern Partnership countries in Riga, the European Commission Representation and the European Parliament Information Office in Latvia.