Society Integration Fund

On 5 July 2001 the Saeima adopted the "Law on the Society Integration Fund", which came into effect on 1 September 2001. The mission of the Fund is to promote society integration in Latvia through the provision of financial support to events which consolidate society (language learning, cultural identity and cultural interaction projects, and other measures). In recent years, the fund has also been actively supporting civic society development that underlies integration. The Fund's budget is composed of the state budget financing, and contributions from the European Union Structural Funds, the European Economic Area Financial Instrument and the Norwegian Government's bilateral financial instrument. In 2010, the Fund also launched the administration of the Swiss Co-operation Programme funding.

Between 2001, when the Fund was established, and the end of 2009, it had financed 1,483 projects, including 880 projects for promoting ethnic and social integration for the total amount of LVL 20 million.

From 2003 to 2008, the Fund financed projects under the state budget programme on Latvian Language Learning for Adults , providing the opportunity to learn Latvian free of charge; however, starting from 2009, the implementation of the programme was suspended for some time due to lack of funding. From 2003 to 2008, a total amount of LVL 1.25 million was allocated for the Latvian language learning projects.

In total, 170 projects received financial support, and the overall number of Latvian language learners in various parts of Latvia reached more than 17,000.