Participants of the Riga Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) at the end of May will donate valuable books on NATO and defence as a gift to our state and the Latvian National Library.

“The contemporary world is facing numerous threats; however, educated individuals, those who understand the situation and can take care of themselves, will always be more secure. The more informed one is, the more security one has. Therefore, sharing information on the largest global security organisation, which has been protecting us since 2004, is a symbolically powerful idea. This information includes the military aspects of NATO, as well as its civilian dimension – cybersecurity, energy and economics issues. Many people don’t even know that these subjects constitute a significant part of NATO’s daily agenda,” points out Mrs. Vaira Paegle, head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO PA.

Mrs. Vaira Paegle acknowledges that it will be a significant contribution to the stock of the Latvian National Library, which currently has more than 100 books devoted to NATO. According to the information provided by the Library, the majority of these books have been acquired after the renewal of Latvia’s independence, namely in the 1990’s. The Library has a larger number of books on the history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation than on the organisation’s current development.

Therefore, the stock of the library should be replenished with more recent publications, especially on NATO civilian programmes – security of information and communication networks, supplies to consumers and producers, education and training.

Several delegations have already confirmed their participation in presenting gifts and have decided which books will be donated to the Castle of Light. The Belgian delegation will present books published in 2009 on the European security and defence policy, strengthening of global civilian and military cooperation, as well as limiting the proliferation of WMD. The Swiss delegation will donate to the Latvian National Library books and booklets published by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. The Dutch delegation is planning to present a book, which is going to be published this year, on the integration of the Netherlands into NATO and the European Union.

The gift-presenting campaign will take place on 30 May as a part of the NATO PA Riga Session at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre.


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