Latvia Represented in International Arts and Cultural Education Cooperation Networks 

From 15 to 17 June, the annual meetings of two European-level networks – ACEnet and ENO – took place in Oslo, Norway. Latvia was represented in the ACEnet network by Ina Masule, Expert at the Cultural Education Division of the Ministry of Culture, and Ilze Kupča, Arts Education Expert at the Cultural Education Division of the Latvian National Centre for Culture. In the ENO network, Latvia was represented by Sabīne Ozola, Research Assistant at the Academy of Culture of Latvia and Expert for The Culture and Arts Education Programme “Latvian School Bag” at the Latvian National Centre for Culture.  

ACEnet (A European Policy Network for Arts and Cultural Education) is a network that, since 2002, has brought together representatives of ministries and cultural policy implementers from European countries to strengthen arts and cultural education at local and international levels. ENO (European Network of Observatories in the Field of Arts and Cultural Education), on the other hand, is an NGO with UNESCO consultative status that unites national observatories (in Latvia, the network is represented by two national observatories: the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art at the University of Latvia and the Academy of Culture of Latvia) with the goal of ensuring and supporting the sustainable development of arts and cultural education based on research-driven knowledge.  

The first day of the ACEnet meeting (15 June) was dedicated to the exchange of good practice – participants learnt about experiences from Wales, the Netherlands, Flanders, Wallonia, Ireland, and Norway. A joint session of ACEnet and ENO also took place, where participants discussed the draft strategic document “Culture Compass for Europe”, developed by the European Commission, which outlines the role of culture in future European policy. The Korea Arts & Culture Education Service also took part in the session, presenting their experience of working with the UNESCO Framework for Arts and Culture Education.  

The second day (16 June) was devoted to the international conference “Inclusion in Action – Arts Education as Site for the Realisation of Children and Young People’s Cultural Rights”, which examined arts and cultural education as a platform for exercising the rights of children and young people. At the conference, Sabīne Ozola gave a presentation titled ‘How Much Participation Is Enough? Enhancing the Impact of Civic Participation Initiatives in Latvian Formal Education’ (co-authored by Baiba Tjarve). The presentation outlined the results of the National Research Programme “Education” project “Prerequisites for Youth Authentic Participation in Formal and Non-Formal Education Environments”, as well as initial insights from the work accomplished under the Latvian National Centre for Culture ESF+ project “Cultural Events as an Instrument for Promoting Civic Participation”, highlighting Latvia’s achievements in cultural and civic participation. The conference also served as the closing event for the international project “Mind the Gap”.  

On the third day (17 June), ACEnet members summarised the conclusions of the meeting and discussed the future priorities of the network.  

One of these priorities directly involves Latvia – during the Oslo meeting, the possibility of hosting ACEnet network members in Latvia in the autumn of 2027 was discussed.  

For Latvia, participation in these networks means not only keeping pace with the latest European trends in arts and cultural education, but also actively shaping joint European policy.