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On 19–21 May 2025, Mauritius welcomed a mission of Latvian experts in the digitalisation of education and artificial intelligence solutions for language diversity. The visit was organised by the Secretariat of the United Nations Educational Science and Culture Organisation (UNESCO) and the Permanent Representation of Latvia to the OECD and UNESCO.
This mission is a follow-up to a seminar held by the Permanent Representation of Latvia to the OECD and UNESCO on 22–23 April 2024 in support of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the promotion of education and language technologies based on Latvia's experience.
Representatives from Latvia and the UNESCO Office in Nairobi met with the Minister of Education and Human Resource of Mauritius, policymakers of the sector, and the Permanent Representative of Mauritius to UNESCO; the presentations and practical demonstrations of Latvia’s solutions took place in Mauritian universities and schools. There was a fruitful exchange of ideas on challenges to the accessibility of education and on Latvia's experience in the field of digitalisation of education, while also seeking digital solutions for Mauritius.
Officials from the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, as well as two leading Latvian education and language technology companies – SIA Tilde and SIA Lielvārds – participated from the Latvian side. SIA Lielvārds gave a practical demonstration of the digital learning platform, Soma.lv, one of the most widely used digital learning platforms in Latvia, and its diverse possibilities. SIA Tilde, for its part, presented language technology and artificial intelligence-based speech and text conversion tools developed by the company, which can also to be used for educational purposes.
The purpose of the visit was to gain an in-depth understanding of the interest of the Mauritian partners in, and their capacity of adapting the Latvian solutions to the education process and content in Mauritius, which could subsequently be adapted to the needs of other interested SIDS. This visit is the next step towards deeper cooperation between UNESCO Latvia and SIDS, which will raise Latvia’s international profile and promote its prestige in the field of artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
The visit was implemented as part of the public diplomacy programme in support of the lobby campaign of Latvia’s candidacy for the United Nations Security Council. Latvia stands as a first-time candidate for an elected member’s seat, and its campaign runs under the motto of “Together for peace and resilience”. Membership of the UNSC will be a key instrument in pursuit and protection of Latvia’s foreign policy interests and enable Latvia to expand its international cooperation, thereby contributing to world peace and resilience.