It is time to change the "exclusion" policy and ensure the opportunity to learn the Latvian language for everyone, emphasized the Minister of Culture Agnese Lāce ("Progressives") on Thursday, speaking at a meeting of the Saeima, where the government-prepared report on the work done and planned in the field of preservation, protection, development, and strengthening of the Latvian language was discussed, LETA reports.
As reported by the LETA agency, the advisor to the Minister of Culture, Lāce, drew the deputies' attention to the fact that the state needs to create a system that would allow everyone to start learning the language as early as possible, as the shortcomings of the current system indicate the existence of an "exclusion" policy that needs to be changed. She also noted that by safeguarding and developing the Latvian language, society strengthens its culture, heritage, and sense of belonging to the state, as well as connections that promote unity, trust, and a culture of dialogue in society.
The Minister emphasized that the state provides everyone with the opportunity to participate in the education system, the labor market, and to be civically active. In her opinion, the Latvian language is a language of belonging and participation, and it is everyone's task to respect, develop, strengthen, and preserve the state language.
Lāce pointed out that the Ministry of Culture has invested resources in promoting reading skills, ensuring the availability of Latvian language educational programs, and supporting creativity in literature, music, and film in the Latvian language. State support is also provided for media content in the Latvian language.
In October of last year, the main directions of media policy until 2027 were approved, one of the goals of which is to promote a more Latvian media environment and a unified information space, increasing the use of the Latvian language in both commercial and public media. In addition, more than 11 million euros is available for digitization to develop quality content in the Latvian language in the digital environment, in addition to funds from the Media Support Fund.
The Minister noted that work is underway to ensure that more music created in Latvia is played on the radio. According to her, "promoting reading skills is a task that strengthens not only the use of the language but also critical thinking, media literacy, and the ability to analyze information." The Latvian National Library implements programs such as "Jury of Children, Youth, and Parents," "National Loud Reading Competitions," and "Book Start," which annually involve an average of 32,000 children, teenagers, and parents.
Reading takes place in more than 850 libraries and 73 centers of the Latvian diaspora, strengthening the sense of belonging to Latvia. At the same time, a large language model of the Latvian language is being developed with the support of European Union funds, and the mechanism for supporting copyright protection is being improved.
The Minister explained that more than 25,000 citizens of Ukraine have already undergone Latvian language training in Latvia, and the demand for training at higher levels of the language continues to grow. Simultaneously, activities of the Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund are being implemented to facilitate the integration of third-country nationals into society and the study of the Latvian language.
