Digital Week in Latvia
All Digital Week is an annual national digital skills awareness and engagement campaign in Latvia organized by LIKTA in cooperation with partners in the National Digital Skills Partnership. Digital Week has been organized in Latvia for 14 years. The tradition in Latvia dates back to 2010 when it was called the European e-Skills Week.
Get to know the initiative
The European e-Skills Week in Latvia was organized by the European Union as part of the European e-skills week, which covered the countries of the European Union as well as the wider Europe. The European e-skills week was organized by the European Commission directorate of Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME’s in close cooperation with Digital Europe and European Schoolnet.
The first European e-Skills Week, which took place in Latvia in March 2010, attracted more than 20 thousand participants and involved over 100 partners, including ministries, sectoral companies, municipalities, schools, and libraries. A total of 303 different events were held across all parts of Latvia. In March 2011, the second European e-Skills Week saw participation from over 41 thousand attendees, with the involvement of more than 200 partners, including ministries, industry companies, municipalities, schools, and libraries. A total of 709 different events were organized in various regions of Latvia, with the option to connect to live webcasts.
The focus of the European e-Skills Week 2012 was on young people and their career opportunities related to e-skills and ICT specializations, digital skills for employment, as well as e-skills and ICT solutions for small and micro-enterprises.
Digital week in Latvia: a timeline
Early years
In 2014, the e-Skills Week in Latvia was a part of the European campaign e-Skills for Jobs 2014, which is affiliated with the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs initiative. Its primary objective is to establish a unified pan-European platform for the development of e-skills. This initiative involves relevant private, public, and non-governmental organizations, aiming to promote European and national e-skills support and development activities. The focus is on encouraging careers in ICT and fostering interest in digital technology-related jobs. Additionally, the initiative seeks to facilitate dialogue between organizations representing the ICT sector, the public sector, NGOs, and the target group at both European and national levels. The campaign was coordinated by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTERPRISE), in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content, and Technology (DG CONNECT).
In 2014, the e-Skills Week engaged more than 38,513 participants in various weekly activities, hosting a total of 857 events in 95 Latvian counties. This active participation made Latvia one of the most engaged members in the European Union (EU) campaign. The e-Skills Week in Latvia was organized by the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA) in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM).
As in the past, the 2015-2017 e-Skills Week in Latvia was part of the European e-Skills for Jobs and Get Online week activities as part of the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs initiative. In 2018, it was called the Digital Week (formerly the e-Skills Week) and has already taken place in Latvia for the 9th time. This time, it was organized as part of the European ALL Digital Week 2018.
Digital Week 2019 in Latvia was part of the activities of the European ALL Digital week 2019 campaign and more than 28000 citizens and entrepreneurs across Latvia have benefited from the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies, making Latvia one of the most active participants in the week for the decade in a row. The Digital Week in Latvia was organised by the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA) together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) and key partners. On the other hand, due to the global situation caused by the COVID-19 virus and in Latvia, and taking into account the recommendations of the European Union, it was decided to organise the Digital Week 2020 remotely in Latvia.During the digital week, interesting live broadcasts were provided on a daily basis to talk about digital opportunities and technologies that are also relevant in the current remote working, learning and self-isolation situation.
Post-pandemic
Digital Week 2021 was organised in Latvia as part of the European ALL Digital Week 2021 campaign and took place in Latvia for the 12th time! Digital Week 2021 was organised as an online package of events. During the week, central events and discussions were organised, which could be followed by live webcasts, as well as other online events organised by partners in all regions of Latvia: schools and libraries, non-governmental organisations, municipalities and businesses. A total of 131 different online events took place in Latvia.
In 2022 the Digital Week campaign in Latvia was organised in cooperation with the European ALL Digital Weeks 2022 campaign and took place in Latvia for the 13th time! Around 170 different events and discussions took place all around Latvia during the campaigne. Anyone interested was able to follow them on the TVNET portal and live webcasts. 150 regional and national partners were involved in organising it in Latvia: regional, city and municipal authorities, libraries, schools and non-governmental organisations, as well as ICT companies, ministries and state organisations.
In 2023, Digital Week 2023 was organised in Latvia as part of the European Union Year of Skills (#EuropeanYearOfSkills) and ALL Digital Weeks 2023 (#ADWeeks2023) and was held for the 14th time in Latvia!
Why is this a good practice?
More than 200 partners – companies in the ICT sector, public authorities, municipalities, libraries and non-governmental organisations – involved in the organisation of Digital Week 2023 events, offering around 450 different information and educational activities, webinars and master classes across Latvia.
Every year, as part of the Digital Week, central events and discussions are organised, which can be followed by live webcasts, as well as events taking place in all regions of Latvia: schools, libraries, non-governmental organisations, municipalities and companies. It is also possible to test your digital skills through self-assessment tests and competitions.
