The Rīga Conference 2020 is taking place on the 12th and 13th of November online. Its participants will have the opportunity to hear from high-level experts and policy makers, including the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg; the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and the Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The conference will be broadcast on the webpage of www.rigaconference.lv and on other social media platforms.
The seven panel sessions at The Rīga Conference 2020 are meant to address the impact and repercussions of COVID-19 on national and international security the emerging post-pandemic global order, EU resilience in crisis situations, the ongoing infodemic, and other issues of immediate relevance on global and regional levels. In addition to the main content, four side events will engage the audience in discussions on women in security, the future of NATO, Baltic energy security, and the Quad Group's support for peace. To see the full programme, visit the website of the conference at www.rigaconference.lv.
The format of this year’s Rīga Conference has been brought in line with health and safety measures set out in Cabinet Order No. 655 of 6 November 2020, Regarding Declaration of the State of Emergency. The venue of the earlier Rīga Conferences – the National Library of Latvia – is to become a technical support centre for this year’s event. Our broader audience can follow the panel sessions online on The Rīga Conference website and via live streaming on Facebook, You Tube, LMT Straume, and a number of internet platforms in Latvia and the international media.
This year, The Rīga Conference celebrates its 15th anniversary. Annually it brings together high-level experts, diplomats, politicians, business representatives, and journalists, promoting a wide-ranging and meaningful discussion on long-term foreign policy and security policy issues.
The Rīga Conference is organised jointly by the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, and the Ministry of Defence of Latvia in close cooperation with NATO Public Diplomacy Division, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the Baltic States, and the European Commission Representation in Latvia. The conference is supported by the Embassy of Canada, the United States Embassy, Meet Riga - the official convention bureau of Riga City and a department of Riga Tourism Development Bureau, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Embassy of Georgia, Latvenergo, Swedbank, Seal, and a data collection provider for European research industry, Norstat.
Other countributions to the conference have been made by the EEA and Norway Grants, Boston Global Forum, Center for AI and Digital Policy, AI World Society Innovation Network, Riga City Council, Amber Distributions, Askaneli Brothers, Pupuchi, NelleUlla, Birzī, Oxford Analytica, Latvian National Library, Armadillo, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Latvia, and Riga Graduate School of Law.
The informative supporters of The Rīga Conference are Latvian Television, LSM.LV, Latvijas Radio, LETA, LMT, Milmag, iPress, Postimees, TVNET, The Lithuania Tribune, Spektr, Guvenlik Portali, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Hospodarske Noviny, DELFI, Uluslararasi Ilisklier Konseyi, Baltic Defence College, and Hromadske International.