During the pandemic, each meeting has been a time of celebration, even when it is virtual! The ALA board, staff and partners from the Embassy of Latvia and World Federation of Free Latvians met for the quarterly ALA board meeting on December 5-6.
For the majority of the first day of the meeting, the board spent time fine-tuning the organization’s 2021 budget. As in other years, in the coming year ALA will be supporting various cultural, educational and charitable projects. ALA will support the XV Latvian Song and Dance Festival (to be held in Minnesota in 2022) with a series of donations in the next three years. At the end of this year, ALA has supported the Latvian National Opera Guild’s initiative to bring to life the opera of Jānis Kalniņš “Hamlet” in the Latvian National Opera. ALA has also granted major support for the Global Center for Latvian Art in Cēsis.
The ALA board also decided to support the purchase of more computers for families in need in Latvia, from the Support & Aid to Latvia budget, in cooperation with Angel’s Heart Society.
In response to a 69th ALA Congress resolution, the board also affirmed support for “Laiks”, which, according to our spring survey results, continues to be an important source of information for ALA members.
ALA board members shared with the group their activities and project results during the last few months. Everyone was in agreement, that a lot has been achieved during this time, but there is still a great degree of uncertainty in the coming months.
One of ALA’s most popular programs, our educational trips to Latvia, was also discussed at the board meeting. Currently it is still difficult to conclude whether or not these trips will be able to operate in the summer of 2021, but program coordinator Marisa Gudrais hopes that, after significant investigation in January, we will be able to provide more information about opportunities to travel this summer.
Director of Cultural Affairs Valda Grīnberga announced that she plans to continue to organize virtual cultural programs, as ALA did during the year in 2020.
Dzintars Dzilna, director of the Public Affairs office, reminded the rest of the board, how important it is for us all to continue to engage our representatives in the U.S. Congress on issues concerning Baltic security.
Another key topic that the board discussed was ALA’s 70th anniversary, which is fast approaching in the summer of 2021. A special fundraising initiative for “ALA70” is on its way to your mailbox this month! As noted in the appeal letter, we will be addressing your priorities, as learned from the spring survey. We also hope to grow our membership base with this initiative.
On Sunday morning, the board was joined by minister Māris Ķirsons, Latvian Ambassador to the U.S. Māris Selga, and leadership from the World Federation of Free Latvians – executive director Raits Eglītis and board president Kristīne Saulīte.
During the meeting, ALA also debated on how to fulfill a resolution from the 69th Congress, which focuses on gaining new members and strengthening the future of the association.
Tatjana Žagare-Vītiņa, Director, ALA Information Office