About USD 280,000 in financial support for a children’s fund, a museum and a film have been approved by the American Latvian Association in honor of the 90th anniversary of Latvia’s proclamation of independence.

ALA Chairman Juris Mežinskis, in a Nov. 18 message to Latvians in the United States, said the association’s board of directors approved a USD 90,000 donation to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (Latvijas Okupācijas muzejs). The museum, in downtown Rīga, presents the story of Soviet and Nazi occupation of the country between 1940 and 1991.

One result of the occupation, Mežinskis said in his message, is that 42 percent of Latvia’s inhabitants today are non-Latvians. Before World War II, the proportion of non-Latvians in the nation was 23 percent, according to the 1935 census.

The association also has approved a more than USD 9,000 donation to director Edvīns Šnore’s documenary film, The Soviet Story, to aid in copyright clearance so that the work may be shown to a wider audience. The controversial film, released earlier this year, argues that the Soviet Union helped Nazi Germany instigate the Holocaust.

A donation of more than USD 180,000 has been made by the association to the Latvia Children’s Fund (Latvijas Bērnu fonds). The fund is a Rīga-based nongovernmental organization focused on children’s health, education and development.

A total of 380 diaspora organizations will receive certificates of recognition for their work in maintaining and nurturing Latvian culture, language and tradition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Nov. 14 in Rīga.

Awarding of the certificates by Foreign Minister Māris Riekstiņš is tied to Latvia’s observation of the 90th anniversary of the nation’s Declaration of Independence. The organizations are being recognized as well for their “belief and relentless support for the idea of Latvian statehood,” a ministry spokesperson said in a press release.

The awards are going to associations, societies, Latvian schools, various congregations, media organizations, and fraternities and sororities.

Among those receiving certificates are the Dzintars Latvian Society of Krasnojarsk, Russia; the Boston Latvian School in the United States; in Australia, the Sydney Latvian Theater and the Jautrais pāris folk dance troupe of Sydney; the Latvian Society of Ireland; the Saulīte Latvian School in the Netherlands; the Ave Sol Latvian Society of Georgia; in Canada, the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto and the Peace Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Ottawa; the Latvian Association of Brazil; the Latvian PEN Club of Sweden; the newspaper Brīvā Latvija of Great Britain, and the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Congregation of Būtingė, Lithuania.

Latvians Online also is to receive a certificate of recognition.

Latvians abroad eager to watch Independence Day events in the homeland will be able to view several live transmissions over the Internet on Nov. 18, a Latvian State Television (Latvijas Televīzija, or LTV) spokesperson said.

The six main events marking the 90th anniversary of Latvia’s declaration of independence will be streamed free of charge on two Web sites, www.ltvarhivs.lv and www.ltv1.lv, LTV announced in a Nov. 14 press release.

While no guarantee is made that problems encountered during this summer’s Song and Dance Festival will not repeat, LTV spokesman Ģirts Valdīšana told Latvians Online in a Nov. 16 e-mail that the television service has increased the number of simultaneous connections allowed for Internet viewing.

Two speeds will be available: a high-quality 1 Mbps stream and a low-quality 128 Kbps stream. Viewers who encounter problems with the high-quality stream should try the low-quality stream, Valdīšana said. The only software requirement, according to Valdīšana, is that viewers must use the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.

“We are looking at how to increase the possibility to see good quality Internet transmissions for Latvians abroad,” Valdīšana added, but plans for that are running up against tight finances at LTV.

Events scheduled to be broadcast Nov. 18 (Latvian time) over the Internet include:

• From 11:00-11:30 hours, the placing of flowers at the Freedom Monument in Rīga.
• From 11:58–12:30 hours, a ceremonial meeting of the Saeima in Rīga’s National Theater, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1918.
• From 14:00–14:45 hours, the National Armed Forces parade along 11. Novembra krastmala.From 17:00–18:20 hours, a concert in the National Theater.
• From 19:00–20:20 hours, various ceremonial events and President Valdis Zatlers’ speech at the Freedom Monument.
• From 21:00–21:20 hours, the fireworks show along the Daugava River.

During this summer’s song festival, according to LTV, about 40,000 visitors from 56 nations viewed Internet broadcasts of various events.