Zatlers visits U.S., to speak at U.N.

Andris Straumanis | 

It’s not every day the president comes to your school, but for some New York pupils Sept. 20 will be that day. Latvian President Valdis Zatlers will visit the school at the New York Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church as he starts a week-long visit to the United States.

Zatlers’ agenda for the week, according to the president’s press office, is focused on events at the United Nations, where the 64th General Assembly is meeting.

The president’s visit will include a speech to political science and international relations students at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.; participation in a U.N.-organized summit on global climate change as well as in the Clinton Global Initiative, as well as one-on-one meetings with other world leaders.

Details of the president’s week in the United States include:

  • Sept. 20: Participation in a 10 a.m. church service in the New York Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church, 4 Riga Lane, Melville, including visiting the Latvian school and meeting members of the Latvian community.
  •  Sept. 21: Lunch with orthopaedics professor Kristaps Keggi of the Yale School of Medicine, with medical school Dean Robert Alpern, as well as a visit to the school and a meeting with orthopaedics students. Zatlers also will speak to political science and international relations students on “Transatlantic Dynamics After the Global Economic Crisis,” scheduled at 4 p.m. in Room 203, Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven. A reception will follow in The Macmillan Center.
  • Sept. 22: Participation in the U.N. organized summit on global climate change. Zatlers also will attend the fifth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, an effort started by former U.S. President Bill Clinton to encourage governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to collaborate on solving world problems.
  • Sept. 23: Participation in the opening ceremony of the U.N.‘s 64th General Assembly; meetings with several heads of state; visiting with representatives of the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee and B’nai B’rith International; and participation in a reception hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama in honor of the General Assembly.
  • Sept. 24: Participation in a roundtable discussion organized by Daris G. Dēliņš, Latvia’s honorary consul in New York, and meeting with President Fatmir Sejdiu of Kosovo. Zatlers is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
  • Sept. 25: Meeting with businessman and philanthropist George Soros.

Accompanying the president will be First Lady Lilita Zatlers. She wll attend the second annual World Focus on Autism, which will headed by Ban Soon-taek, wife of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Latvian Foreign Minister Māris Riekstiņš also is expected to participate in the U.N. General Assembly, according to a press release from the ministry. He is scheduled to have meetings with his counterparts from Canada, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malta, Montenegro and Serbia. Riekstiņš also is to participate in meetings with other European Union foreign ministers, as well as with Baltic and Nordic foreign ministers.

Zatlers at U.N.

Latvian President Valdis Zatlers speaks in September 2008 to the 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations. (Photo by Marco Castro, courtesy of the United Nations)

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

Capitalizing on Rīga

Ojārs Kalniņš | 

Don’t expect Rīga to be completed if it becomes a European Capital of Culture in 2014. According to legend, Rīga can never be “finished,” or it will sink to the bottom of the Daugava River.

But you can expect the unexpected in 2014. That’s because Rīga’s successful candidacy for this prestigious honour was based on an ambitious cultural programme that carries the provocative title of “Force Majeure.” If you’ve only seen this term in legal contracts, get ready to expand your cultural consciousness. The French term refers to an “overwhelming force” or an extraordinary event that occurs beyond all normal expectationns. As the name alone implies, the creative minds behind Rīga’s application are definitely aiming for the extraordinary.

In its application, Rīga said it would focus on culture as “the spiritual and intellectual dimension of mankind, manifesting itself through any form of human activity, and expanding the understanding of culture through liaisons with other spheres of life. It is a liaison between generations, traditions and the digital world, it means overcoming historically established barriers.”

You can find out more about the project on the Web page, www.kultrix.lv. Rīga has four years to prepare and you will no doubt be hearing a lot more about it in the future.

Rīga was chosen by a jury representing various European Union (EU) institutionns, including the European Parliament and the European Commission. Clearly the Rīga application, which offers six intriguing thematic lines, was impressive and original. But what else could have made the Europeans decide in favour of Latvia’s bustling Baltic Sea capital?

I assume some of them have already been to Rīga at least once. It’s an experience you don’t forget, especially if you didn’t know what to expect before you arrived. If the jury members were fans of the game Monopoly, they may have been swayed by Rīga’s selection in 2008 to become one of the world’s 22 most popular cities to be included in World Edition of the game, called “Monopoly – Here and Now.” Rīga garnered the second highest number of votes after Montreal, and thus won the honour of becoming the “Park Place” of the new global game.

Then again, they may remember the Rīga NATO Summit in 2006, when 26 national leaders met here to decide the future of transatlantic security. U.S. President George Bush liked the city so much, he came here twice.

But that’s all history, and the only thing more interesting than Rīga’s storied past is its promising future. Back in 2001, Rīga had the biggest birthday party of its life when millions of Latvians celebrated its 800th anniversary. In 2014 and Rīga will be 813 years old, and it looks like all of Europe (and beyond) will be celebrating with us (just in time for Latvia to take over the presidency of the European Union in 2015).

As for the legend mentioned earlier, as far as legends go, it really is true. According to a 15th century chronicler of Latvia, a fisherman once got lost in the Baltic Sea and encountered a huge sea monster.

The monster asked where the fisherman was from, and he answered, “Rīga.”

So the monster asked, “Is Rīga finished yet?”

The fisherman said, “No, not yet. We’re still building it.”

“Alright then,” the sea monster responded, “but when Rīga is completed, tell me, and I’m going swim into the Daugava, slap it with my tail and sink the city to the bottom of the river.”

So we can assure the EU and all our international friends that in 2014, when Rīga becomes the European Capital of Culture, it will be ready for you. But if any sea monsters ask, tell them it’s still a work in progress.

Long-time New York basketball coach receives two honors

Jānis Ģiga | 

The prestigious New York Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association has named Indulis Ray Raņķis 2009 All-Met Men’s Division III Coach of the Year.

He was also awarded Coach of the Year honors by the Atlantic Region National Association of Basketball Coaches and the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC).

The awards were announced in April and March, respectively.

Raņķis, in his 26th season at CUNY’s Baruch College, is the longest-serving men’s basketball coach in CUNYAC history. Baruch recorded a perfect 13-0 record in the regular season and a berth in the 2009 conference championship game.

This season Raņķis coached the Bearcats to a 23-6 record and the program’s third appearance in the NCAA Tournament. His teams have won nine CUNY North Division Championship titles.

A 1970 graduate of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, Raņķis played college basketball for Lehman College where he was selected First Team All-CUNYAC and inducted into the Lehman College Sports Hall of Fame.

Raņķis also is a 25-year veteran player and coach for the New York Latvian basketball team Rakte, which has won 10 titles in the American Latvian Association’s “Finālspēles” tournament. Raņķis twice won the Visvaldis Melders Memorial Award as the tournament’s outstanding basketball player as well as has received the Imants Štāls Memorial Cup for outstanding basketball contributions on and off the court. In 1993, he was inducted into the Latvian Sport Hall of Fame for achievements in sports outside of Latvia, receiving the Latvian Sports Council’s “Lielā nozīme” award.

Raņķis, along with his wife and two children, resides in New Rochelle N.Y. He also serves as associate athletic director at Baruch and starts the 2009-2010 basketball season with 367 career victories.

Raņķis talks to players

Coach Indulis Ray Raņķis talks to his Baruch College players during a break in a game. (Photo courtesy of Baruch College)