On 1 and 2 July, Lampa Conversation Festival (https://festivalslampa.lv/en) has been held in Cēsis. Ministry of the Interior of Latvia and it’s authorities, in cooperation with non-governmental organisations offered festival visitors discussions on important and topical security issues in the country and society. The activities of the Ministry of Interior took place in the Human Security tent and nine discussion panels took place in two days aimed at promoting inclusive talks on human safety and the resilience of society to various risks in both the physical and digital space, as well as promoting a sense of public security in general. Several panels discussed issues related to the reception of Ukrainian war refugees in Latvia.
This year at the Lampa Conversation Festival the Ministry of the Interior was represented by the State Police, the State Fire and Rescue Service, the State Border Guard, the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the Office for Internal Security and the Financial Intelligence Service.
The Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs revealed the activities of the Human Security tent on the second day of the festival – July 2, at 11:00, when the “Destination – Europe” discussion game was held by European Migration Network Latvian contactpont. It is an inclusive discussion tool that engages people in migration and integration decision-making processes. Players played different roles at European, national and urban levels and experienced different migration scenarios.
There were two parallel sessions organised where different groups of society were participating e.g. youth, school children, retired persons and economically active persons. Over the course of sessions, the participants were able to adapt themselves to the roles of the decision makers and to see how their decisions affect these people and society as a whole. The discussions that emerged during the game allowed its members to look at different arguments and understand how specific policies can affect the environment in which both local residents and migrants live.
Between the rounds some people changed, so more had opportunity to try out the “Destination – Europe”. EMN Latvia had a moderator who introduced the tool to the audience and also commented the scenarios of the tool.
EMN Latvia received very good feedback from the participants as some of them enjoyed various roles especially the ones of the local level.
“Destination – Europe” was an excellent introduction to a real debate organised by the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs just afterwards: a discussion on “An unpredictable migration policy today”, on the impact of major global change on migration processes, key trends and challenges facing both migration policy enforcers and employers and society.
Download the print-and-play version here.
