The President of Latvia announced his first patronage regarding a clean, green, and sustainable Latvia when meeting with the organisers of the Big Cleanup today.
The conversation highlighted the enormous contribution made by Latvian people in cleaning up their land since 2008 and setting an example for other countries.
Leader of the Big Cleanup Vita Jaunzeme thanked Egils Levits for commitment to be a patron of the Big Cleanup and also thanked his official predecessors, each of whom enthusiastically supported this largest voluntary movement in Latvia.
According to Vita Jaunzeme, what the people of Latvia have been able to achieve is highly appreciated in the world. At the beginning of 2019, the Big Cleanup was awarded a prize commending Latvia as an excellent country with the highest percentage of participants of the environmental clean-up achieved in the long term. Egils Levits congratulated for the success and stressed that the Big Cleanup civic movement on a clean and sustainable environment and thinking was crucial not only in Latvia but also internationally.
Latvia is also an active participant of the World Cleanup Day, which is taking place for the second year globally. On 15 September 2018, the first World Cleanup was organised with 18 million people from 158 countries engaged worldwide. At the Second World Cleanup Day taking place on 21 September 2019, Latvia will continue to inspire the world by planting Trees of Happiness for future generations. “While people collect waste in other countries, Latvia can set an example of what can be achieved through targeted work. Latvia is already planting trees and landscaping, and it is an encouraging message for those countries where environmental cleanliness still requires a great deal of effort,” stated Ms Jaunzeme.
Egils Levits and Vita Jaunzeme also discussed a wider range of issues related to the sustainable future of Latvia by promoting a circular economy, a new approach to daily habits and human thinking about the environment in which they lived.