Scholarship for Latvian- and German-speaking undergraduates

Latvians Online | 

The Copernicus Stipendium based in Germany has announced that a private sponsor wishes to finance one scholarship from Oct. 1, 2010, to Marcj 31, 2011, for a Latvian- and German-speaking undergraduate student.

This is not as unusual as it sounds, since sometimes private donors or institutions have a special connection to a country, city, or even university and therefore contact the Copernicus Stipendium offering to sponsor their scholarship program if they accept someone from a specific country, city or university.

Last year Copernicus had just one application from Latvia, but since it did not meet the necessary standards, no scholarship was awarded. Usually Copernicus receives up to three applications from Latvia every six months, so chances are good this time if a Latvian student fulfills the conditions and writes a good application.

Copernicus is a student association managed by students or former students whose aim is to sponsor Eastern European and Central Asian students in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. The association offers 12-15 German-speaking students from Eastern Europe and Central Asia the opportunity to study at one of the three higher education institutions for one semester and subsequently complete a two- to three-month work placement.

For more information about the application process, visit the Copernicus website at www.copernicus-stipendium.de. Send questions to stip-bewerbung@copernicus-stipendium.de.

A Facebook group has also been created about this scholarship at facebook.com.

Latvia pledges aid to Haiti victims

Andris Straumanis | 

Support for the victims of last week’s massive earthquake in Haiti will also come from the cash-strapped Latvian government, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Jan. 18.

During a special meeting, the government’s Cabinet of Ministers approved a EUR 15,000 donation to an emergency fund organized by the United Nations to aid Haiti. European Union members are expected to donate up to EUR 92 million, the ministry announced in a press release.

The Jan. 12 earthquake, registering 7.3 on the Richter scale, struck the capital of Port-au-Prince and other communities in Haiti’s west. Tens of thousands of people are believed to have died in the earthquake.

Ziedot.lv, an online charity coordination service based in Rīga, announced Jan. 14 that donations also can be sent through the Latvian Red Cross.

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

‘Glābējsilīte’ is word of the year

Andris Straumanis | 

In what clearly is a sign of the times, the Latvian word of the year is glābējsilīte, a place where unwanted babies can be abandoned, the Rīga Latvian Society (Rīgas Latviešu biedrība) has announced.

The word glābejsilīte is the Latvianized version of the term “baby box,” a service offered by hospitals and clinics where infants can be abandoned without questions being asked. The Rīga Latvian Society’s language development interest group announced the word’s selection during a Jan. 18 press conference.

The “non-word” or nevārds selected from among multiple nominations is saīsināt, the news service LETA reported. Usually meaning “to shorten,” the term has been used during the country’s economic crisis to refer to the reduction of staff.

And the choice for the “winged words” (spārnotais teiciens) of the year is “Un ko jūs saprotat ar politisko atbildību?” (And what do you understand political responsibility to mean?), a phrase uttered by Latvian Health Minister Baiba Rozentāle during a press conference.

The society has been announcing words of the year since 2003.

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