Other events in Baltic States

The German embassy in Riga will organize United Buddy Bears charity exhibition in Riga to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital Fund for young patients who cannot receive state funding for their treatment, said Latvian Culture Minister Dace Melbarde (National Alliance) in a press conference yesterday, informs LETA.

Melbarde and German Ambassador to Latvia Rolf Schutte discussed the Latvian-German cooperation in culture and future plans.

The United Buddy Bears exhibition will be organized from July 12 until August 22. On the Dome, more than 140 of the two-meter tall United Buddy Bears will stand peacefully hand in hand and set an example for tolerance and international understanding. Each of the large sculptures represents a country of the United Nations and was designed by an artist of the respective country.

The exhibition will be a gift from Germany to the people of Latvia on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the state. The bears have been traveling the world since they were first exhibited in Berlin in 2002. The bears have already greeted over 40 million persons in 30 cities all over the world.

Liene Dambina, the head of the Children’s Hospital Fund said that this is the first such international cooperation for the fund. "Last year the fund spent about EUR 500,000 to help children who cannot receive state-funded treatment. Demand for such assistance is huge, therefore we are happy that this will be another way to help children and their families," she said.

The patrons of the exhibition are Schutte, Melbarde and Riga City Mayor Nils Usakovs.