On October 27, the President spent an hour and a half in conversation with the participants of the Future Leaders Academy, as well as participants of the Sweden-Latvia Young Professionals programme, answering their questions and sharing stories from their experiences. This event was made possible with the support of the Sweden-Latvia Cooperation Fund.

Sunday, October 29, marked the culmination of the project with presentations of the ideas by the program participants. A full audience attended to watch the presentations. Former President of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers (2007-2011), Sweden's Ambassador to Latvia, Karin Höglund, as well as one of Latvia's leading journalists, Pauls Raudseps, were present as the jury.

During the project, the young people were divided into teams of two with the task of identifying an issue essential to Latvia's development, researching how similar problems are addressed elsewhere in the world, and preparing a presentation on how Latvia could innovatively solve this problem. As part of the project, educational workshops were conducted to teach young people the skills required to publicize their message, make persuasive arguments, and craft more personal narratives. Simultaneously, public speaking skills were honed for the young participants. All present agreed that the presentations were very diverse and innovative. Participants presented ideas on improving tax policy, combating misinformation, motivating teachers, and emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive approach to the health sector in Latvia's future development.

The first place in the idea presentations was awarded to Anželika Litvinoviča and Markuss Kozlinskis for their developed concept of a high school student game on recognizing and combating disinformation titled 'Escape the (Russian) Disinformation: Gamification of Media Literacy in Education.' Second place was awarded to Anete Zonnenberga and Nikola Dukule for their presentation 'The (Non-) Recognition of Prior Learning in Latvia,' highlighting the challenges of getting foreign higher education courses recognized in Latvia. Third place was awarded to Anastasija Smirnova and Markuss Ivaško for their idea of using social media and influencers to promote integration, titled 'Connecting Latvian Youth: Overcoming Integration Hurdles through Social Media Initiatives.'

This was the seventh year of the Future Leaders Academy, organized by SSE Riga, with the support of the Swedish Embassy in Latvia and the Swedish Institute. The aim of the project is to select, educate, inspire, and develop the leadership potential of youth aged between 18 and 25 from all over Latvia.

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