From July 4 to July 6, 2023 representatives of Willich German-Latvian Friendship Society visited Smiltene to familiarize themselves with the work of the municipality and discuss future cooperation opportunities.
On Tuesday, June 4, the Chairman of the Smiltene Municipality Council – Edgars Avotiņš presented the guests of the delegation with the current events, strategic goals, priorities and development perspectives of Smiltene region. During the reception, there was a discussion about the possibilities of increasing energy efficiency, about the experiences so far, as well as how the work on strengthening and supporting various areas will proceed in the future – renewing the exchange program for young people, students, organizing joint sports events, etc.
The German guests visited the Smiltene Art School, where the director Vineta Balode showed and told the basics of art that children and young people in Smiltene can learn. Matīss Mežulis, head of the Sports Administration of Smiltene Municipality, introduced the delegation to the multi-functional sports complex Teperis, stadium, the premises of the “Smiltene” football club. The guests also visited the Smiltene post of the State Fire and Rescue Service, which was shown by the post commander Ineta Bērziņa. The delegation met with representatives of the Municipal Police, visited the Smiltene secondary school.
As part of the visit, the German guests will attend the XXVII General Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival grand concert “Cleanliness. Song path” and other events.
The representatives of the delegation highly appreciated the tidy environment of Smiltene, the cleanliness of the streets, the offer of active recreation and culture, the infrastructure and the friendly reception.
We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who kindly and warmly welcomed our German friends!
For information: The twinning of the cities of Smiltene and Willich (Germany) started more than 25 years ago with the aim of developing and maintaining the exchange of information between municipal authorities, the city development department, schools, kindergartens, etc. On June 22, 2017, a partnership agreement was signed between the Smiltene County Council and the Willich Municipality.
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