The national selection of the European Commission’s “European Enterprise Promotion Awards 2020” has been completed. Two projects from Latvia have been submitted for the competition. The aim of the competition is to identify and assess the most successful business and enterprise promoters across Europe, in particular to highlight the best business policies and practices, raise awareness of the added value of business, and inspire potential entrepreneurs. The winners will be announced at an award ceremony in Berlin, Germany, in November 2020.
The Society Integration Foundation will participate in the international competition, in cooperation with the Ventspils High Technology Park Foundation, which has established a multi-stage set of activities that enable it to identify, assess, highlight by rewarding employers who have implemented the principles of diversity management in their organisation. The aim of the “Force is in diversity” movement is to create a recognisable and positive movement of employers, which, as part of their day-to-day work, promote diversity in their businesses, organisations, state or local government authorities, associations or foundations, recognising that the diversity of employees is a resource and a driving force for the development of an organisation and achieving outstanding results in every field, in any circumstances. In 2019, the movement “Force is in diversity!” was appreciated by the President of Latvia Egils Levits, who urged employers to join the movement hoping that at least 300 employers will become its participants. The movement highlights employers who cared for their people and are open employers not only in “peace times” but also in difficult times. The prize award mission is to promote tolerance to the different among Latvian employers and in the labour market as a whole, as well as to raise awareness among Latvian residents that diversity is a resource.
The second project from Latvia, which will participate in the European selection, is Air Baltic Corporation with the new pilot academy project in the “Investing in entrepreneurial skills” category. At a time when the industry faced a shortage of pilots, airBaltic created a sustainable solution to motivate to learn the profession. The airBaltic Pilot Academy currently has 60 active students. The majority of students are from the Baltic States, but some are also from other Member States of the European Union, such as Germany, France, Finland and other. During these years airBaltic has not only implemented a professional theoretical training programme but also invested and developed the practical training at the academy – purchased a training simulator, equipped a number of Diamond Aircraft planes and opened a fully equipped aircraft hangar for the training process. The first group of 12 students graduated from the programme in 2019.
Since 2006, the “European Enterprise Promotion Awards” has been awarding outstanding initiatives supporting entrepreneurship at national, local and regional level. More than 4000 projects have participated in the competition resulting in more than 10,000 new companies. More information on the competition is available on the website of the European Commission.