Lettonie

EDGARS RINKEVICS

Président de la République de Lettonie

One of our national priority goals is “a dynamic range of cultural and sports services accessible to everyone, which allows developing talents and creating a strong image of Latvia in the world” and it goes in line with sports commitments stated in the Paris Agreement for Sports and Sustainable development. One of the priorities set in our Sports Policy Guidelines for 2022-2027 is to ensure the availability of interest education in sports programs in all the general education institutions therefore enabling more children and youth to engage in physical activities.

With an emphasis on the involvement of children and young people in certain sports in Latvia, our country invests significant resources in both appropriate infrastructure and sport teachers.

Youth can be attracted to engaging sports that combine street culture with organized participation. By rising the active civic involvement of young people our Ghetto games movement has gained outstanding popularity. It has begun at the lowest point of the global economic crisis, in one of the most socially disadvantaged districts of Riga. At these street sports and culture activities our future gold medallists forged and polished their skills in 3x3 basketball - now a sport on the Olympic programme, which is extremely popular in Latvia.

In addition, urban development and increasingly friendly public spaces have contributed to the accessibility of skateboarding that nowadays has become an important sport and lifestyle in Latvia, attracting more and more young people and gaining wider public recognition.

Building on the decades-long cooperation with the National Olympic Committee, Latvia is putting the promotion of the youth Olympic movement in its focus, emphasizing new sports popular among young people and building a steady basis for the pyramidal structure of the European Sports Model – from the grassroots to the Olympic Gold.