Exhibition of drawings in Foreign Ministry features Afghanistan as seen by children

On 29 April, the Foreign Ministry hosted the opening of an exhibition of drawings by pupils from the girls’ school of the town of Meymaneh in Faryab Province, Afghanistan, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ogre District Council.

The exhibition was opened with an address delivered by the Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Andris Teikmanis, Chairman of the Ogre District Council Edvīns Bartkēvičs and journalist Sandijs Semjonovs. Present at the opening ceremony were representatives from the Ogre District Council, teachers and pupils from the Ogre 1^st Secondary School, representatives from the public and non-governmental sector.

State Secretary Teikmanis emphasized in his address that, more often as not, both local and international media space, when discussing the issue of Afghanistan, featured only military  operations, security risks and terrorist threat. These, however, are not the only aspects that matter. Behind bare facts and reports on events there lie the fates of real people, their hopes in the future of their country and in a meaningful and foreseeable life. This is what makes exhibition so important: through drawings it provides an insight into the present day lives of Afghan children who are destined to build the future of their country.

The Ogre District Council Chairman Edvīns Bartkēvičs, for his part, confirmed that Latvian municipalities were interested and getting actively involved in co-operation projects in countries both far and near. The Ogre District Council is planning to continue and expand its partnership with the municipality of Meymaneh through experience sharing between experts from both sides and representing various fields. 

The exposition was launched parallel to the NATO Summit Simulation game on Afghanistan 2014: NATO's further role in the stabilization of the region also hosted by the Foreign Ministry. Participants of the game – young people from Latvia’s schools and universities took advantage of the occasion to see the display and get new insights on Afghanistan.

The exhibition will be shown in the Foreign Ministry till 13 May. After that, the works are to be displayed in a number of schools and other public buildings, to make the exhibition accessible for as broad as possible a range of interested viewers.

Schools are invited to visit the exhibition by making arrangements in advance via tel. 67016447 or e-mail diana.golubecka@mfa.gov.lv.