A petition has been started in Rezekne Municipality due to concerns about funding cuts for amateur artistic groups — remuneration is not provided for 42 group leaders, the LETA agency has found out.
Residents of Rezekne Municipality, cultural workers, and participants of amateur groups express "serious concern about the processes occurring recently in the cultural space of the municipality" in an open letter.
"Information has emerged in the public space and the press that support from the local government and payments to the leaders of several amateur groups are being discontinued, which effectively leads to the cessation of these groups' activities. These decisions were made without prior discussion with industry representatives, without publicly available criteria, and without a clear economic and social assessment," the authors of the letter assert.
They emphasize that amateur groups are not just leisure activities or a budget line. They are the foundation of local culture, community cohesion, resident participation, and social well-being. Especially in rural areas, amateur groups often represent the only opportunity for regular cultural life and social interaction, including for elderly people.
In this regard, residents urge the local government to "immediately suspend the reduction of support for amateur groups and their effective liquidation until the situation is clearly and publicly assessed." They also request to "publish all decisions of the council, orders, and criteria based on which decisions regarding support or its cessation were made."
The authors of the letter believe that the local government needs to conduct an analysis of the economic and social impact, assessing the consequences of these decisions for cultural life, community cohesion, and the long-term budget of the municipality, as well as to initiate an open dialogue with cultural workers, group leaders, and local communities about the future of cultural life in Rezekne Municipality. It is also necessary to develop a "clear, transparent, and sustainable cultural policy based on resident participation, rather than solely on administrative or short-term budget considerations."
"We urge the local government to act responsibly, transparently, and with respect for its residents," the appeal to the council states.
Georgy Evsikov, Deputy Chair of Rezekne Municipality for Economic Affairs, Education, Culture, and Sports, in response to a question about whether a decision has been made, initially told the LETA agency that the local government would publish information on this matter in the coming days.
Later, he emphasized that no artistic group in the municipality has been liquidated. "All groups of the Rezekne municipality that it provides premises and accessible technical support for are registered on the Latvian cultural portal 'Cultural Data'," the vice-chairman reported.
Nevertheless, considering the sectors supported by the Latvian National Centre for Culture, as well as the group reviews planned for 2025 organized by the Culture and Tourism Department of the municipality, no remuneration is provided for 43 group leaders in 2026.
At the same time, given the expressed dissatisfaction regarding the assessment by the Culture and Tourism Department, the municipality's leadership is currently analyzing documents related to the assessment of groups and interest groups.
"If violations or discrepancies in the assessment of groups are identified, the local government will restore the salaries of their leaders and apply disciplinary measures to the responsible employees," Evsikov promised.
