Posts Tagged ‘Latvia’
Riga is set to become Europe’s audio capital – “Radiodays Europe 2026” will take place in Latvia
From March 22 to 24, 2026, Riga will become the center of the European audio industry for a few days, hosting the world’s leading radio, podcast, and digital audio conference, “Radiodays Europe 2026.”
The event will bring together more than 1,500 media professionals from over 65 countries, including executives from major public and commercial media outlets, podcast creators, technology companies, content creators, and audio innovation experts. The conference in Riga will become one of the most significant international media industry events in the Baltic region.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 16 Mar
Read MoreSEB Tackles Financial Technology Challenges Together with RBS Students
Last autumn, SEB participated for the first time in the Riga Business School (RBS) Computer Science and Organizational Technologies software engineering course, where students worked on real industry challenges throughout the semester. The course is led by RBS faculty member Uldis Karlovs-Karlovskis, and student teams develop software solutions based on ideas proposed by companies.
The financial sector is currently undergoing rapid transformation—technology increasingly shapes how customers perceive financial services, how decisions are made, and how companies manage their resources. To not only keep pace with these changes but actively shape them, it is essential for banks to seek new perspectives, experiment, and collaborate with environments where future ideas and talent emerge.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 12 Mar
Read More50% of survey respondents believe an offshore wind park will have a positive impact on Latvia’s economy
The latest survey data show that public awareness in Latvia about wind park development plans and energy security issues is gradually increasing. For example, 65% of respondents in a survey conducted by Norstat Latvia report that they are at least somewhat informed about the plans to develop offshore wind park in Latvia. At the same time, society increasingly supports a “moderate” development approach – more and more residents believe that Latvia should become an energy-neutral country and produce only as much electricity as it consumes domestically.
A survey commissioned as part of the ELWIND project shows that public awareness of the joint Latvian–Estonian initiative to develop an offshore wind park in the Baltic Sea has increased. This year, 65% of respondents say they are aware of the project (61% last year). Most people have heard about the project but are not familiar with all the details, while only a small share report having a very good understanding of it.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 9 Mar
Read More26 research projects funded in BioPhoT second call
The 26 highest ranked projects in the second BioPhoT call for research and innovation projects will receive funding. They will receive an investment of €4,710,859, with each project receiving up to €190,000 in funding for eight months of research and innovation activities.
Most of the supported projects – seven – will be carried out by research groups from the Institute of Solid State Physics at the University of Latvia. The University of Latvia follows with five supported projects, followed by the Institute of Organic Synthesis and Riga Technical University with four each. Two projects each will be implemented by teams from the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre and Riga Stradins University, and one each by research groups from the Institute of Electronics and Computer Science and Ventspils University College.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 6 Mar
Read MoreMILA Members Demonstrate Artificial Intelligence Solutions for the Public Sector
On March 4, 2026, the Latvian Artificial Intelligence Association (MILA) organized the event “AI Solutions for Latvian Municipalities”, which attracted strong interest from public sector representatives across Latvia. More than 40 participants attended the event in person at the University of Latvia Library in Riga, while over 400 participants joined online.
The event was organized by MILA in collaboration with AI Salon Riga, the University of Latvia Artificial Intelligence and Computing Center, and the Latvian Municipal ICT Association.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 6 Mar
Read MoreNIB strengthens SME financing in Latvia through ALTUM
NIB has signed a loan agreement of EUR 50 million with JSC Development Finance Institution ALTUM to support SMEs across Latvia. The funding will be used for a wide range of SME investments, including equipment purchases (such as agricultural machinery, production machinery, and equipment for service providers), property investments (including agricultural or production facilities), as well as working capital loans.
The programme primarily targets loans below EUR 1 million, with a dedicated portion for smaller loans (below EUR 250,000) aimed at SMEs in rural areas. Typical investments include equipment and heavy vehicles for forestry, agriculture, and manufacturing, as well as construction or renovation of facilities for smaller service providers.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 3 Mar
Read MoreOpen arms Nato’s Baltic members agree to open their borders in the event of an emergency
The eight Nato countries bordering the Baltic Sea, together with Iceland and Norway, have pledged to open their borders to each other’s citizens should they be forced to flee in the event of a disaster. The agreement is an extension of a patchwork of arrangements among some of the countries in the region and will make it possible to co-ordinate responses and establish uniform procedures for doing so.
The bear not in the room is Russia. The Kremlin has repeatedly said that it does not intend to invade Nato countries, but western intelligence agencies have advised their governments to be ready for everything from small-scale shenanigans to an outright invasion. Military collaboration has long been a way to signal to their populations that they are doing what they can to prevent such things from happening. Now, civil-defence agencies are showing they will be taken care of in the event they do.
RELATED ARTICLE } Swedes preparing to receive Bornholm refugees
Read MoreSurvey: AI inequality gap is emerging in Latvia
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into everyday work processes in Latvia. However, the labor market’s overall preparedness for these changes remains insufficient. A representative survey conducted in February 2026 by the research company Norstat, commissioned by ERDA and the Future of Work Institute, shows that only 23% of employed respondents have received training in artificial intelligence over the past 12 months, highlighting a significant skills development challenge in the labor market.
In only 16.2% of cases was the training provided by the employer, while a substantial share of employees acquired knowledge at their own expense. This means that more than three-quarters of Latvia’s workforce operate in an AI-driven environment without systematic support.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 4 Mar
Read MoreTwo more container shipping lines have added the Port of Riga to their routes
At the beginning of this year, two new container cargo lines have started operating in the Port of Riga. The ships of the British company Ellerman City Liners will connect the Port of Riga with the ports of Gdynia, Teesport, Tilbury and Rotterdam. Meanwhile, ships of the leading international sea container carrier company Hapag-Lloyd will operate on the route Wilhelmshaven-Hamburg-Klaipeda-Riga-Rauma-Helsinki-Wilhelmshaven. Vessels of both shipping lines will call the Port of Riga once a week.
Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s top global container shipping companies. Its fleet boasts 305 modern container ships with a total transport capacity of 12.5 million TEUs (20-foot container units) per year. The company employs 17,400 employees in more than 400 representative offices across 140 countries. The strategic addition of the Port of Riga to Hapag-Lloyd’s extensive network provides clients with faster, more reliable delivery solutions and enhanced global connectivity. This integration makes it easier to reach more international destinations directly from Riga.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 17 Feb
Read MoreKeeping up with the Nordics Baltics staying the course against corruption
When it comes to corruption rankings, there are the Nordics and then there is everyone else. Again this year, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden ended in a log jam at the top of the Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual ranking of perceived corruption in the public sector. Germany rounded out the top 10. The Baltic states (Estonia: 12; Lithuania: 28th; Latvia: 37) are showing that despite some setbacks (including the resignation of Lithuania’s prime minister last year amid a corruption scandal), that they, too, take corruption seriously.
Transparency International, which has produced the report each year since 1995, cautions against easing up against corruption, even in the Nordic countries, but, in the Baltic region, the trends at least are with them: countries with the best records are generally democratic and highly digitalised.
READ MORE
That will show the path for Poland (52). To be sure, it has shown improvement since PiS, an illiberal regime that dismembered the country’s civil-society infrastructure, was voted out of office in 2023, and it finds itself solidly in the top third of the table.
Progress, though, has been modest, due to what has been deemed insufficient efforts to undo the damage done by PiS. Russia (157) finished level with Chad, Honduras and Zimbabwe. An outlier in a sea of outliers.