On 9 and 10 September 2026, Riga will host the closing conference “Cultural Research for Future Choices” of the Ministry of Culture’s State Research Programme project “Latvian Cultural Ecosystem as a Resource for National Resilience and Sustainability” / CERS, bringing together over two days everyone affected by the programme’s research results – cultural sector professionals, policymakers, students, other researchers, as well as those interested in Latvia’s cultural and artistic life. The conference will reveal the impact of the knowledge gained within the project and the solutions identified for sectoral problems on contemporary culture, art, cultural policy, and the people of Latvia. The conference is organized by the Latvian Academy of Culture (the project’s lead partner), the National Library of Latvia, the Art Academy of Latvia, the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, and the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia.
“At a time when questions are increasingly being asked about the impact of science and its ability to provide solutions to societal challenges, the closing conference of the Ministry of Culture’s State Research Programme project CERS will offer an opportunity not only to learn about scientists’ discoveries, but also to see the path by which scientists arrive at the topics and questions that are researched, the arguments that substantiate new knowledge, and the ways in which what has been researched becomes embedded in our decisions and actions. At the conference, we will reveal that in creating new knowledge and solutions, researchers in culture and the arts do not work in social isolation, but in close partnership – scientists collaborate not only with one another, but also with the people of Latvia, public and private sector cultural organisations, artists, policymakers at the national and municipal levels, media representatives, and other stakeholders. We will discuss whether and how this cooperation and co-creation of knowledge help us move towards understanding the societal changes brought about by technological innovation and security threats, and we will highlight how new knowledge resonates in cultural and artistic processes. The conference will also provide an opportunity to critically evaluate what has been accomplished and to discuss new directions in which there is an acute lack of knowledge in the contemporary cultural and artistic landscape of Latvia,” Anda Laķe, Vice-Rector for Research at the Latvian Academy of Culture, describes the concept of the conference.
The first day of the conference, on 9 September, will take place at the National Library of Latvia (3 Mūkusalas Street) and will also be available to watch live on the LSM.lv portal. The conference will open with a discussion on state research programmes as an instrument for science funding and as a research environment in which knowledge and solutions to problems that are relevant and important to Latvian policymakers and the national economy are generated. Scientists involved in the programme will present the most significant data and practical recommendations, which have been compiled in 11 policy reports on specific groups of issues identified by the Ministry of Culture as important to the sector. During the day, some of these recommendations will be discussed with those to whom they apply. Discussions will cover cooperation between the state and municipalities in ensuring the diversity and accessibility of cultural services in different parts of Latvia, digital cultural consumption and access to digital cultural heritage, the employment of artists and other creative professionals, challenges posed by artificial intelligence, as well as the economic impact of culture on Latvia’s national economy. A travelling exhibition will also be opened, presenting in a concise form information on the most significant research results of each scientific institution involved in the programme within the framework of the Ministry of Culture’s State Research Programme CERS project.
On 10 September, the second day of the conference, attention will focus on the project’s academic results and their sustainable impact on the development of science at the Gara House of the Latvian Academy of Culture (58a Miera Street). The programme will include presentations of collective and individual monographs produced within the project, discussions on research into art, music, cultural heritage and archives, and library collections, presentations by doctoral students, as well as discussions with students who became involved in research during the project. This day will reveal not only the knowledge created during the project, but also how the next generation of researchers in the humanities and arts is being developed.
The project “Latvian Cultural Ecosystem as a Resource for National Resilience and Sustainability” / CERS (No. VPP-MM-LKRVA-2023/1-0001) is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia within the framework of the State Research Programme “Latvian Culture – a Resource for National Development” (2023–2026). The State Research Programme is administered by the Latvian Council of Science.
More about the project: https://lka.edu.lv/lv/petnieciba/petijumu-projekti/valsts-petijumu-programmas/cers/.
Registration for attending the conference is available by completing the online application form: https://forms.gle/rN2fp6YHuoHyShfLA
