ENO Latvia

Working Priorities

The aim of the Latvian National Observatory is to stimulate the dissemination and exchange of research-based knowledge and innovative practices in arts and cultural education in Europe, to promote the development of arts and cultural education practices and policies, and to support the development of cultural education within UNESCO’s global policy framework for sustainable development of education and culture.
The Latvian National Observatory follows the latest developments in the field of arts and cultural education in Europe, represents internationally the trends and research on changes and developments in Latvian cultural education; actively participates in projects initiated by ENO.

Partner Institutions

Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC) is a state-founded higher education institution under the Ministry of Culture, conforming to the type of university of arts and culture, is based on three pillars: education, research and artistic creation. It implements BA, MA, and doctoral programmes in the study direction “Arts”.

The Academy’s mission is to provide internationally recognized excellence in arts and culture education, scientific activity and artistic creativity, providing highly qualified human resources for the cultural, artistic and creative sector.

Research at the LAC is organised by its structural unit – the Institute of Arts and Cultural Studies. The research at the LAC is mainly focusing on arts, but many of its research activities are interdisciplinary, with links to the related fields of science, e.g. Sociology (including Anthropology, Ethnology), Law, Political Science, History and Archaeology. It has strong audio-visual and performing art departments and expertise. Excellent research competence has been developed in the cultural heritage field, cultural participation, the cultural and creative industry sector.

In the past few years numerous national and international research projects have been carried out. LAC has also become one of the leading research centres in Latvia implementing applied studies commissioned by the national and local level governments, monitoring trends in the CCS, and providing research-based expertise for policy development. This includes bi-annual study on cultural consumption and participation, as well as studies on vocational arts education among others.