The Riga Graduate School of Law has been successfully running programmes in European Law and Economics for countries in the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy region, Central Asia and the Western Balkans since 2014, with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other donors, especially the United States. Over this period, 593 participants from 20 countries and territories have completed the programmes.
The Latvian Standard (LVS) contributes to the capacity building of the national standardisation bodies of Georgia and Moldova by transferring Latvia’s expertise in the implementation of the European Union standards in order to help small and medium-sized enterprises in Georgia and Moldova adapt to the requirements of the EU market.
The State Audit Office has been providing support to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine for capacity building of the Supreme Audit Institutions in the process of transposing international standards since 2016. With assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, institutional capacity building is promoted in the areas of financial audits and audit quality control. The project is co-financed by Sweden.
The Baltic Human Rights Society is implementing a project in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in the field of human rights education. A digital information and education tool – The Human Rights Guide – has been created and adapted to the needs of partners countries as part of the project. The platform will enable people in those countries to learn about human rights in their home countries.
The MARTA Centre together with its Ukrainian partners established a rehabilitation centre for women – victims of sexual violence crimes perpetrated by Russian military in Ukraine. In cooperation with the Ivano-Frankivsk medical institutions, the women affected at the centre are provided with accommodation, physical and mental rehabilitation, social, psychological, legal and medical assistance.
The MARTA Centre provided psychological and emotional support to people, victims of violence by the Russian army, as well as support for documenting war crimes and adapting Ukraine’s National Action Plan “Women, Peace, Security” to war conditions.
The National Rehabilitation Centre “Vaivari” is providing assistance to six hospitals in Ukraine with setting up rehabilitation programmes for patients after limb amputations. Applying Latvia’s experience in medicine, Ukrainian partners were provided with consultations on the implementation of rehabilitation programmes, training materials in Ukrainian language were devised and distributed, and on-site training was organised.
Researchers from the Rēzekne Academy of Technology, in collaboration with their colleagues from Ukraine, provided support to Ukrainian educators working with children in war-affected regions. The project has developed a website containing information in the Ukrainian language compiled on different types of therapy for children to reduce anxiety caused by war.
The State border Guard supported the development of the State border Guard Service of Ukraine in accordance with EU standards. Unmanned aerial vehicles have been handed over to the Ukrainian State Border Guard and training organised on the use of drones with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Judicial Administration and the Supreme Court shared with their Ukrainian counterparts Latvia’s experience in the development of the justice system in accordance with EU standards. A study on the impact of European integration on the work of the justice system has been developed together with the Supreme Court of Ukraine; in addition, 22 computers have been transferred to the Ukrainian judicial authorities and institutions to ensure their work under war conditions.
The Employers’ Confederation of Latvia implemented a project for the recovery and growth of the Ukrainian labour market, promoting development of the potential of the Ukrainian labour force and human capital. The LDDK shared expertise and knowledge on the development of work-based learning and provided support for the establishment of a qualification centre in Ukraine. Cooperation between Latvian and Ukrainian businesses was also promoted during the project by organising B2B matchmaking events and meetings.
The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry provided support for the integration of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine into the EU single market, through transferring Latvia’s experience with implementation of the EU requirements. The project promotes cooperation between Latvian and Ukrainian entrepreneurs in the fields of waste recycling, renewable energy, food, wood industry, and ICT.
Since 2015, the University of Latvia has been implementing its young professional training programme for Ukrainian students, “European Union Studies – Domestic and Foreign Policy”. More than 423 students have graduated from the programme. In 2022, the “EU Studies – Domestic Policy” lecture package was supplemented with courses on the process of accession negotiations for Ukrainian public administration professionals and newly-appointed public officials.
Uzdevumi.lv, by sharing Latvia’s experience in digitalising education, supported the development of the Ukrainian educational system platform and a digital learning environment. With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, digital learning content was created to ensure the continuity of a remote learning process.
The Latvian Social Business Association, together with cooperation partners from Georgia, promoted the development of Georgian social entrepreneurship in the tourism sector. A catalogue of social enterprises and three travel routes through which social enterprises will be promoted in different regions of Georgia have been developed under the project. The objective of the project was to promote the development of social entrepreneurship and a respective ecosystem in Georgia.
Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital continued to provide support to Moldovan health authorities in countering disinformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war on Ukraine, as well as raising awareness among medical practitioners of the risks of corruption and a conflict of interest in healthcare.
The Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation, together with the National Library of Latvia and Vidzeme University, implemented a project aimed at promoting democratic development at the level of local communities, strengthening resilience to disinformation and highlighting the role of librarians as leaders of change in local communities.
The Latvian Rural Forum strengthened the capacity of Moldova’s regional and local development planning organisations and the involvement of young people in rural development, through providing support for the creation of a parliamentary platform for rural communities in Moldova.
The Ministry of Education and Science has been active in the region since 2018, providing continuity to the European Union and Central Asia education platform. The 2022 activities aimed at engaging in the EU-funded DARYA (Dialogue and Action for Resourceful Youth in Central Asia) project with a focus on youth employment through the development of inclusive and labour market-oriented skills. This enhances the quality and inclusiveness of education and employment systems in Central Asia.
A clean technology cluster, CLEANTECH Latvia, has been transferring Latvia’s experience and state-of-the-art technologies in the water management sector to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan since 2019, with the aim of capacity building among the engineering company industry associations. The core funding of the project comes from the European Commission.
With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riga TechGirls is putting in practice an international initiative, Female Founders Across Borders, to promote the involvement of Uzbek women in entrepreneurship in the field of technology. Drawing on Latvia’s experience in promoting gender equality and in business practices, the project provides support for the creation and development of technology companies founded and run by women.
Experts in geospatial data management systems from SIA SunGIS have been providing support to Uzbekistan since 2019. As part of the 2022 project – with the development of the geographical information system for the water supply and sewerage management so as to promote the implementation of the digitalised management system in Uzbekistan. The project included the transfer of Latvia’s expertise in GIS technologies to Uzbek partners, as well as designing a prototype of an information system.
The Latvian Standard, in co-operation with the National Metrology Centre of Latvia and the Tilde technology localisation company, shares Latvia’s experience in the field of good governance and digitalisation with the national quality infrastructure institutions in Uzbekistan. The project strengthens Uzbekistan’s public administration capacity in the use of digital technology solutions and in improving access to information.
The National Plant Protection Service contributed to improving Uzbekistan’s plant protection system and laboratory capacity with the aim of promoting food exports from Uzbekistan. Drawing on Latvia’s experience in climate action and reform, EU practices in the registration and monitoring of plant protection products were shared Uzbek partners to ensure sustainable agriculture in Uzbekistan.
The National Plant Protection Service also provided support to boost the capacity of the Uzbek Plant Protection and Quarantine Agency, with the aim of preventing the threat of fire blight, a bacterial plant disease, in Uzbek agriculture.
The MARTA Centre has been working in the field of gender equality in the region since 2013. In 2022, the centre continues its involvement in a UNDP project funded by the European Commission in Uzbekistan. The MARTA Centre carried out capacity building activities for local non-governmental organisations in the provision of public services to women and other vulnerable groups in rural areas, as well as the establishment of women’s advisory and support groups in seven local centres.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection on Regional Development has been participating in a UNDP project funded by the European Commission since 2021, providing support for improving the quality of public service provision in Uzbekistan’s regions. Latvian experts are train employees of the Agency for the Development of Public Service and devising a tool for quality assessment of the provision of services in order to improve their quality.
A Latvian diaspora association, esiLV, in co-operation with the Riga Business School, is implementing the first Latvian development co-operation project She Rebuilds the World in Africa with the aim of supporting the involvement of women in entrepreneurship in Namibia and Zambia. Under the project, Latvian and international experts share experience in raising entrepreneurial skills among women, promoting improvement of an inclusive and sustainable business environment.
An association, Esi labs! [Be Good], with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is implementing an EU Aid Volunteers Initiative project to send volunteers to Cameroon, Guinea, Congo, Vietnam, and Ghana to reinforce the work of local organisations in the protection and sustainable management of rainforests. The European Commission is the main donor of the project.
Ārlietu ministrija sniedza līdzfinansējumu arī globālās izglītības projektu īstenošanai, lai veicinātu Latvijas un Eiropas iedzīvotāju zināšanas par tādām jomām kā cilvēktiesības (īsteno Baltic Human Rights Society), klimata pārmaiņu radītās sekas (īsteno Zaļā brīvība) un Ilgtspējīgas attīstības mērķi (īsteno Latvijas Platforma attīstības sadarbībai).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also provided co-financing for the implementation of global education projects in order to enhance knowledge of Latvian and European citizens in areas such as human rights (implemented by Baltic Human Rights Society), the consequences of climate change (implemented by Green Liberty) and the Sustainable Development Goals (implemented by the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation).
In 2022, pre-assessment visits were supported with the aim of promoting cooperation of Latvian project promoters with their partners in beneficiary countries. With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a meeting of the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments with its partners took place in Uzbekistan, as well as the development of cooperation by Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital in Georgia, and a visit by SIA Catchsmart to Kenya.