From May 13 to 18, the Latvian information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA) invites everyone to participate in the activities of Digital week 2024. In formats of various events throughout Latvia, companies and citizens will be invited to develop their digital skills for business and employment by making more active use of digital technologies and services. The educational campaign aims not only to promote public digital literacy, but also to draw attention to digital identity, security and critical thinking.
Digital week is organized as part of ALL Digital weeks 2024 (#ADWeeks2024) and will be held in Latvia for the 15 th time this year. The main partners of Digital week are DocLogix, Latvia State Radio and TELEVISION Centre, Tet, Ministry of environmental Protection and Regional Development, Ministry of Education and Science and Centre for Culture Information Systems Centre. Many other enterprises in the ICT sector, public institutions, local governments, libraries and non-governmental organisations have also participated in organising events.
As part of Digital week 2024, there will be a series of engaging events and discussions that anyone interested will be able to follow up on likes FACEBOOK and other live internet broadcasts.
The following thematic days will take place during the Digital week in 2024:
• Digital skills and artificial Intelligence - May 13;
• Digital services and skills for citizens - May 14;
• Digital skills and solutions for entrepreneurs - May 15;
• Digital Security day - May 16;
• Digital skills in Education - May 17;
• Museum day - May 18.
“The Digital week has been taking place in Latvia for 15 years and we are proud that every year we feel an increasing involvement of Latvian citizens, businesses and organisations in the activities of the Digital week. Also this year, together with regional and national partners, we want to draw attention to topics such as artificial intelligence, digital skills and services for citizens and entrepreneurs, cyber security, as well as digital skills in education. This year, for the first time, the Digital week will take place in May and the theme days will also be joined by Museums day. Digital skills and technologies are our future, so I encourage everyone interested to take this great opportunity to raise their skills, learn something new, and learn about the opportunities and challenges that technology offers us right now, “says LYTH President Prof Signe Bāliņa.
“Digital week 2024” will open on May 13, a day devoted to artificial intelligence that is becoming increasingly significant everyday for every company and citizen. How does artificial intelligence help us and what skills do we need? These questions will be answered in various seminars, master classes and discussions.
'It is rare nowadays to be convinced of the opportunities offered by technology and also artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence provides an opportunity to address societal challenges to a qualitative new degree in a range of sectors - health, climate, security, etc., including public administration. In order for public administration to be able to be more efficient and at the same time provide increasingly high-quality services to citizens, the evaluation and deployment of artificial intelligence capabilities must be on the agenda of the head of each institution. We are pleased that a number of institutions are already working on this. On the other hand, as these technologies become more accessible and powerful, it is critical that they are designed and applied in a reliable way, protecting society and democratic processes from improper use of technology. Work is underway on the development of artificial intelligence regulation, while we, as a society, also need to be knowledgeable and skilled both in the application of technology and in protecting ourselves from harmful use,” says Gatis Ozols, deputy state secretary for digital transformation at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development
“We believe that fostering understanding and using technology is important at any age from an early age. in 2023, the sustainability goal set by the company has been achieved, ensuring the participation of more than 33,000 persons in educational activities organised and supported by the met to promote public technologies and digital security knowledge. Everyone digitaladrosiba.lv on our platform, but especially younger internet users, can improve their digital security skills, and learn to protect yourself in a digital environment. Conversely, in cooperation with Riga TechGirls, we encourage women to focus on the IT and technology sector, which is much more creative and diverse than might initially seem. It is never too late to acquire digital skills – they need to be developed continuously,” believes Teta chief executive Uldis Tatarchuk.
May 14 will be dedicated to Digital services and skills for citizens, where it will be possible to learn about the skills needed in the labour market and the services available, which can make it easier for citizens, businesses and organisations to live.
The main theme of May 15 will be Digital skills and solutions for entrepreneurs, where the focus will be on support available to businesses for digitising different processes, different digital tools and solutions that can become support for entrepreneurs' everyday lives.
“Digital transformation has become a major factor for business growth and sustainability. This is also confirmed by the ambitious objectives set out in the Digital Agenda for the European Union, which foresee that by 2030 more than 90% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will have acquired basic digital capabilities. As SMEs form the backbone of the European economy, providing them with essential digital tools is a crucial factor in competitiveness. That's why the DocLogix team is excited to support Digital week 2024 as a major initiative that will help Latvian companies learn digital skills and innovate solutions,” says Gilvin Kazlausk, director of DocLogix.
May 16 will be “Digital Security day,” which will host a variety of online events with an emphasis on cybersecurity, critical thinking and current digital skills to feel safe in the digital environment.
“The number of cyber attacks continues to rise for citizens and organisations alike, making it essential to strengthen citizens' understanding of cyber hygiene and the fundamental principles of secure digital communication and deal settlement. Whatever security walls the organization builds, they will fall if residents have no understanding of how to safely verify a person's identity in the digital environment, how to sign documents, how to recognize cyber threats in an email or on websites. It is important that we do not leave these security issues in our own flow, but we talked, learn, exchange experiences and also mistakes, so LVRTC has been updating security issues for several years during the Digital week. Also this year, in cooperation with CERT.LV, we will organize an online event for organizations on the principles of operation of a secure digital enterprise,” emphasizes Girts Ozols, Chairman of LVRTC Board.
May 17 will be dedicated to Digital skills in Education, as part of which the Ministry of Education and Science will organise various online events for parents, pupils and teachers in cooperation with partners.
“Digital week is a great platform for updating the importance and impact of digital transformation in the field of education as well. In order for society as a whole to be prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the digital age and to succeed in a rapidly changing world, it is essential to develop digital knowledge and skills at all stages of education – schools, higher education and lifelong learning. So this year, as part of Digital week 2024, the IZM has prepared a wide-ranging and diverse program that includes both developing digital literacy in school and high-level digital skills acquisition opportunities, as well as binding information for the performers of adult education programs for creating digital skills acquisition content, “says p.i., secretary of state at the Ministry of Education and Science Ilze Saleniece.
For the first time, the closing day of Digital week 2024 – May 18 – will be dedicated to Museums night, at which Latvian museums will be invited to reveal digitised values to residents in their stocks.
“All these years since the Digital week is held in Latvia every spring, the Culture Information Systems Centre (KISC) has always assumed the role of the main partner of this initiative in relation to the co-ordination of the Digital week in the public libraries of local governments, which have always offered their users different digital skills training and digital resources opportunities.
We want to expand the circle of 2024 partners of Digital week by inviting Latvian accredited museums to participate. This year, another European-wide initiative, Museum night, will take place during Digital week. As KISC manages the national important information system “Joint Catalogue of the National Museum collection,” we closely collaborate not only with libraries, but also with museums, and we know that many museums in Latvia offer digitized cultural and historical values in their collection in interesting and varied ways, both online and live. We invite Latvian museums to take advantage of this opportunity and talk about both the digitised objects of the collection and museum night events also within the framework of the Digital week!” says Sandra Ozoliņa, deputy director of the Culture Information Systems Centre, Member of the Museums Council.
In addition, various varied events organised by campaign partners will take place in all regions of Latvia – schools and libraries, non-governmental organisations, local governments and enterprises.
More information about “Digital week” events and opportunities to log on as a partner can be found here, as well as looking for information with the #eprasmes24 and #ADweeks24 topics
Additional information:
Sintija Sila
Communication project manager ASSIGNED
Tel. 25990259
Email: sintija@likta.lv