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Kr. Valdemara str. 33
Office 11 (entrance from courtyard)
Phone: +371 67218043
Fax: +371 67218045
info@bccl.lv |
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| February 28 |
| Anita Kaleja at the BCCL St. David's Day |
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Dear members of the British Chamber of Commerce in Latvia,
Dear Guests,
Mr. Ambassador
And „Croeso” (kroiso) to the Welsh among us
I feel honoured to have this opportunity to say the opening speech at an event that is bound to become a tradition in Latvia. The British Chamber of Commerce in Latvia is hosting Latvia’s first St. David’s day celebration in Riga, and in this festive spirit we are joining many others in similar celebrations in Wales as well as elsewhere in the world.
St. David is the patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk who lived in the sixth century and lived to become the Archbishop of Wales. Amongst other titles he was known as ‘David the Water drinker’ because, as the legend says, he drank little else.
Well, if we take a look at the selection of Welsh whisky and wine as an indication, it would seem that the habit of drinking nothing else but water has not formed the lasting legacy of St. David. But now I would like to to express our gratitude to our most generous benefactors and sponsors - The Welsh Assembly Government, our platinum members International Business Wales, and Visit Wales. May I ask you to join me on stage so that I can present you with a token of our gratitude – a certificate from the BCCL.
I trust that this evening will prove to become a memorable experience of Welsh hospitality at its best. For this I would like to say a special thank you to Tim Makin, who to my knowledge, was the first (some 4 or 5 years ago) to ever suggest organising a St. David’s day evening in Latvia. Let us thank Tim for perserviering with his dream.
There are many similarities between Wales and Latvia, but there are also many differences. In this short introduction I shall attempt to outline what appears to be most significant for our membership.
Amongst the similarities I shall start with the geographical description. Latvia and Wales are countries of roughly the same size, both in terms of their territory and population. Moreover, Wales as well as Latvia, are relative new-comers in the international scene. There has been no history of separate government in Wales since the 15th century but in 1999, there was a fundamental change to the UK’s constitution which created greater devolved responsibilities for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Devolution has given Wales the opportunity to play its part on the European stage. It means that Wales can now develop distinctive Welsh policies to reflect the needs of people in Wales and safeguard their own culture and identity. Latvia, after the singing revolution of 1990, has earned the right to govern itself and with the joining of the EU in 2004 has an international role and mission that is similar to the Welsh.
But there are also the differences. Although Latvia and Wales share similar social, economic and environmental problems, we have to acknowledge that our counterparts in Wales have succeeded in finding reasonable solutions to these problems, whereas Latvia is still in the painful process of trial and error.
The implementation of distinctive Welsh policies has created remarkable success stories in Wales, both in the business and political realm. This year Wales has much to be proud of because of two Nobel Prize winners - Sir Martin Evans, joint winner of the prize for Medicine for his work in Stem Cell research and Sir John Houghton, joint winner of the Peace Prize for his work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Perhaps, if there is only one lesson that we as a Chamber can learn from our distinguished guests, we can pay attention to the integration of efforts from different realms in order to solve some of the most trying problems. Our Welsh guests tonight have proven how important it is to join together business and artistic communities, as well as the governmental body in order to create a lasting impact.
I propose that within the near future we, as a chamber, should implement measures to overcome the isolation of the business community within the society at large in order to better serve our membership. Let us think before our upcoming AGM about the ways in which it can be achieved.
But let us return to St. David. Regardless of the water-drinking tradition that has not been endorsed, there is one saying of his that is very much alive in Wales. ‘Do the little things’.
In this spirit I shall invite Board member Mr. Neil Jennings to the stage and together with him, hand out certificates to our successful graduate candidates:
ILUTA STEPANOVA – VIDZEME UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
DENISS AKSJONOVS – SSE RIGA
BAIBA ORBIDANE – UNIVERSITY OF LATVIA, FACULTY OF LAW
IGNAS VAITKUNSKAS – SSE RIGA
Let us enjoy together this evening, and remind ourselves the significance of little things. They form our day-to-day routines. The way in which we do ‘Little things’ shapes our identities. I think this realisation is common for our two nations. ‘Do the little things’.
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