ALA bilingual tours of Latvia set for July, August

Latvians Online | 

The American Latvian Association (ALA)  is once again organizing a bi-lingual trip to Latvia, “Hello, Latvia/Sveika, dzimtene,” for adults and families – the 12th one of its kind since 1997. The dates are from July 29 through Aug. 12. 

According to the ALA tour organizer Anita Juberts, “the ‘Hello, Latvia/Sveika, Dzimtene!’ trips are particularly well suited to adults of Latvian background who want to introduce their English speaking spouses or children to Latvia, as well as for those whose Latvian may be a bit rusty and who appreciate the full-time bi-lingual guide and the bilingual trip information.

“The trip provides a comprehensive overview of Latvia—both geographically and culturally,” she said. “The itinerary includes in-depth time in Rīga as well as a tour of Latvia’s historical four provinces. This year’s itinerary includes a special emphasis on Kurzeme – with a side trip to the Lithuanian Baltic Coast and the city of Palanga with its famous Amber museum.”.

The tour starts from either Chicago or Newark, N.J., and is capped at a maximum of 20 participants (with a minimum of 10). The fee includes double occupancy accommodation and meals. Admission to museums and events is included in the program.

This year’s tentative itinerary also includes a visit to the Art Nouveau Museum in Rīga, the Latvian National Archives, the Sigulda Opera Festival Gala Concert, the Bauska Castle ruins, the restored Rundāle Castle, a tour of Cēsis, the writer Kārlis Skalbe’s memorial home and museum, the Aglona Basilica, a visit to a Latgallian potter’s studio, and a stop at an ethnographic homestead where participants can sample country home cooking—Kurzeme style. The tour will also include visits to the ports of Liepāja and Ventspils and beach time on the Baltic Sea, as well as a visit to the legendary resort town of Jūrmala.

Trip participants will be signed up in the order their applications are received. Trip applications can be downloaded from the ALA website, www.alausa.org (click on “Visit Latvia”). For further information, call Juberts at +1 (301) 340-8719 or e-mail her at projekti@alausa.org.

Dueling petitions in Latvia draw battles lines over language issue

Andris Straumanis | 

Public schools should only teach in Latvian, the official language of Latvia. Or Latvia should just have two state languages, the other being Russian. Whichever you choose, there’s a petition to sign.

The nationalist alliance Visu Latvijai – Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK and an organization called “Sargi valodu un Latviju” used the website www.sargivalodu.lv to get out the word about its petition drive. The petition demands that the constitution be amended to guarantee that elementary and secondary public education is guaranteed by the state, but only in the official language—Latvian.

A total of 10,000 signatures were collected by the end of February and now will be presented to the Central Election Commission (Centrāla vēlēšanu komisija). If all the signatures are legitimate, then the commission will have to organize another petition drive, this time seeking a tenth of all voters, to force the Saeima to consider the amendment.

Meanwhile, Vladimirs Lindermans, head of the Jan. 13 Movement (13. janvāra kustība), and Osipov Party leader Jevgēņijs Osipovs announced March 4 that they will be collecting signatures to recognize Russian as a second state language, according to TVNET and other media. They have formed an organization called “Dzimtā valoda” to push for changes in Latvia’s constitution.

Similar to the petition on Latvian in public education, the effort to recognize Russian could result in forcing the Saeima to take up the question.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Short-term visitors abroad asked to participate as census begins in Latvia

Andris Straumanis | 

Residents of Latvia who find themselves abroad for a short time are encouraged to be counted as part the country’s 2011 census, Central Statistical Bureau officials say.

However, long-term residents of foreign countries will not be counted as part of Latvia’s population in the census that began March 1 and continues to May 31.

Persons who have lived outside Latvia for more than a year should not complete the census form. They will be counted in whichever country they live when that country holds its census.

Latvian residents who find themselves abroad may use the online census form available at www.tautasskaitisana.lv. The Central Statistical Bureau will have the online form available through March 10.

On March 17, census workers will begin visiting Latvian residents around the country.

Thousands of people used the Web-based form on March 1, although the server at one point was overloaded and users could not gain access, according to census officials.

Results of the census are to be reported to the government by Feb. 1, 2012. It is expected that the census will show Latvia’s population has dropped significantly since the last headcount in 2000, which showed a total of 2.37 million residents, of whom 57.7 percent were ethnic Latvians. Since Latvia joined the European Union in 2004, emigration from the country has increased, with tens of thousands of persons moving to countries such as Ireland and the United Kingdom in search of work.

The Central Statistical Bureau estimates that at the end of February a total of 2.227 million people lived in Latvia.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.