Contribution by other institutions in Latvia
The Society Integration Fund provides funding to promote national minority education and fosters dialogue in society and among national minorities themselves. The Fund has financially supported seminars for parents of students learning in national minority schools. The numerous projects of the Fund facilitated the transition to Latvian as the medium of instruction in national minority schools, while others helped preserve ethnic minority languages and promoted co-operation between Latvian and national minority schools.
The Latvian Language Agency (LLA) runs seminars, discussions and conferences on the issues of education, organises courses on bilingual education for teachers, elaborates and publishes teaching aids and methodology materials. The Agency has ensured that all national minority secondary school teachers are provided with language training courses free of charge.
Implementation of the education reform is underpinned by regular information campaigns. The Secretariat of the Minister of Special Assignments for Society Integration Affairs, whose functions were taken over by the Ministry of Justice in 2009, in association with the Ministry of Education and Science has published a booklet "Education Reform - what exactly is it?" providing answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning national minority education.
In 2010, within the framework programme for Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows 2007-2013 under the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals, the Ministry of Education and Science in co-operation with the Latvian Language Agency ran a project "Producing adaptation programmes and materials for the third country nationals' children aged from 6 to 12".
The Consultative Council on issues of national minority education, established in 2001, helps maintain a dialogue between the Ministry of Education and Science, students and teachers of national minority schools, parents and NGOs. Its aim is to provide support for the development of national minority education programmes taking into consideration the views and suggestions of national minority representatives and thereby promoting the involvement of national minorities in the shaping of national minority education.
In 2008, Latvia hosted a UNESCO international conference, "Education for All", which highlighted the issue of inclusive education both in Latvia and in the world through a discussion on whether high quality education was accessible for all, whether schools were open for all, how inclusive the environment and society around us was, and other such topics.
