Saeima and NGOs discuss Latvia’s future in a safe Europe at the forum / Article

Three parallel discussions are taking place in the Saeima and NGO forum. One of them is about the prevention of a safe environment for children and young people, where those present discuss the development of the plan for the prevention and combating of violence for 2024-2029 and what actions we should ensure and what legislative improvements should be made so that our children can live in a safe environment. in safe Latvia.

In the second discussion, “Social economy in Europe and Latvia”, issues related to the national social economy strategy, which have become especially relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic, are discussed.

On the other hand, in the third discussion “Latvia’s role in European security”, the participants discuss how to more effectively implement cooperation between public administration and non-governmental organizations in order to promote the achievement of common nationally important goals.

As Kristīne Zonberga, director of the Latvian Civic Alliance, said on Latvijas Radio’s program “Labrīt”, this year’s theme of the Saeima and Non-Governmental Organizations Forum is looking to the future and what is Latvia’s role in Europe.

“This is a rather old tradition in Latvia, where once a year representatives of various fields and representatives of non-governmental organizations have the opportunity to meet with members of parliament, and then for several hours to discuss and update issues that are important in their industry. It is an important annual event where truly for organizations that are perhaps not so active in the work of the Saeima on a daily basis, then it is a time a year where everyone can meet together and discuss current events,” Zonberga said.

The director of the Civic Alliance pointed out that there are quite a few non-governmental organizations that can participate in the Saeima commissions on a daily basis, so this day is to be able to update the issues that are relevant to them, not those that have already been put on the Saeima agenda. One of the good examples of why this kind of measures are necessary comes from the recently held open door day of the Saeima, where non-governmental organizations had the opportunity to meet with the members of the Saeima commissions and encourage the deputies to talk about “deepfake” technology.

At the opening of the forum, the chairperson of the Latvian Civil Alliance Council, Agnese Fridenberga, also emphasized that non-governmental organizations work to help everyone, therefore the legal framework created for non-governmental organizations must also be such that allows these organizations to operate.

“If we look at the Saeima, then primarily, when developing the legal framework, the Saeima should look and listen to the social partners, hear their needs, their needs, which would allow them to work much better. Especially in cases when the Saeima is developing a legal framework that focused on one sector or one area – it is important to listen to the non-governmental organizations, so that afterwards the non-governmental organizations do not have to defend public interests in the Constitutional Court,” Friedenberg said.

In the daily work of the Saeima, the involvement of civil society plays an essential role in evaluating legislative initiatives and providing proposals for their improvement.

The forum has become a parliamentary tradition, and the Saeima organizes it in close cooperation with civil society organizations. In order to improve and modernize the parliament’s dialogue with civil society, the Presidium of the Saeima approved a new declaration on cooperation between the Saeima and civil society in February.