President of Latvia Egils Levits met with participants of the European Summer School in the Riga Castle today and emphasised the essential role of the school in preserving and promoting the Latvian identity.
Egils Levits noted that the camp bringing together children from 15 countries around the world this year, was one of the best ways to raise awareness of our country and our Latvian identity, language, and culture among young people living abroad. He stated, “The European Summer School is a forum balancing peer friendship and entertainment with elements of learning. It is an opportunity to forge close friendships, acquire knowledge and skills to contribute one’s experience to Latvia in the future.”
The European Summer School is a tradition that has been created in exile, and today it also enables children of compatriots living abroad to acquire Latvian knowledge and to forge common bonds of friendship. In addition to the entertainment program, young people acquire knowledge of Latvian and Latvian literature, Latvian history, geography, and social sciences. Choir and folk dance classes are integral part thereof. The European Summer School runs from July 28 to August 11 this year. The European Summer School was held in the premises of the Munster Latvian Grammar School for the first time in 1979.
