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On Thursday, 6 September, at the opening of an exhibition “The World @ Your Library – Exploring UNESCO’s World Heritage” in the Grand Vestibule of the Saeima, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, stressed that our cultural and natural treasures are a unique heritage for Latvia and the world and that libraries are sources of information about it.
“This exhibition is another opportunity to see and explore the treasures of our culture and nature. Our people, including children, attended lectures on Latvia’s unique values, compared these treasures with objects included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and then drew pictures and composed poems to remind us about the beauty of Latvia which we forget in our hectic daily life. This exhibition is a reminder that our palaces are just as beautiful as the one in Versailles, and our gardens are just as beautiful as those included in the World Heritage List,” said Speaker Āboltiņa.
“This exhibition also dispels the myth that nowadays libraries are forgotten. The exhibition that we have opened today is an example of how libraries keep up with the times and remain places where one can explore the world, as well as meet people and have discussions with them. This exhibition shows that the best ideas originate in Latvia and that the best people to implement these ideas live in Latvia,” highlighted the Speaker of the Saeima.
At the opening of the exhibition, Ina Druviete, Chairperson of the Education, Culture and Science Committee of the Saeima, said: “Sometimes we have to look into a spyglass from the other end in order to better see what we have and what we pass by every day. This exhibition allows us to appreciate not only the treasures of Latvia’s nature and cultural landscape but also the work of our students, schools, libraries and UNESCO. I encourage everyone to create such an exhibition in their mind’s eye every day, not to forget about the beauty of Latvia while being abroad, and while being in Latvia not to forget that we are living in a globalised world.”
Dagnija Baltiņa, Secretary General of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO, was gratified that the starting point of this travelling exhibition is at the main building of the Saeima. “This exhibition promotes our heritage. It proves that Latvia is self-confident and understands its unique treasures.”
Dzintra Mukāne, Executive Director of the National Library of Latvia, emphasised that the leading motif of this exhibition is patriotism and that the exhibition suggests interesting comparisons. “Egyptian pyramids and ant hills in Latvia, a chapel in Preiļi and the Pantheon in Rome – those are just some of the compared values that can be seen at the exhibition. Our children and young people are very creative and eager to learn while libraries contain inexhaustible treasures, and this exhibition attests to that,” said Mukāne.
The campain “The World @ Your Library – Exploring UNESCO’s World Heritage” is organised in the framework of the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention and as a part of the global campaign “@ your library”. Its aim is to highlight and promote libraries as a modern source of information because they offer broad opportunities for acquiring knowledge and exploring cultural diversity. Ninety-three Latvian libraries are participating in this campaign, and 20 of them are participating in this exhibition.
The exhibition is arranged by the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with the National Library of Latvia and the Association of Latvian Librarians.
Photos from the event are available at: https://www.saeima.lv/lv/galleries/view/1425
Video from the event is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5cWndDff9I&feature=plcp
When using the material, please give credit to the Saeima Chancellery.
Saeima Press Service