Dear Kursieši! Sveiks, sveiks, sveiks Kursā! 

I’m so excited to see so many of you together! I know that meeting online isn’t the same as being together at Kursa, but I’m happy that we have the chance to come together virtually with our friends — new and old — and with some of our teachers. And, of course, that we have the chance to continue learning! 

Teachers Reinis Vējiņš, Dace Melbārde, Ilze Gaigala, Krista Brauere, Ingrīda Birzniece and others have put together a fantastic program — one that’s interesting and engaging, and I hope that you enjoy working on it! Some familiar faces will also join us in other meetings. In two weeks, we’ll share your achievements with the broader Kursa community. 

I bring with me greetings from Kursa’s longtime supporters, including the American Latvian Association, American Latvian Youth Association and the board of our own West Coast Latvian Education Center. We thank the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, National Center for Education, the Society Integration Foundation, Latvian Language Agency and the World Federation of Free Latvians for their support of this program. 

It is certainly odd not to spend the summer at Kursa and WCLEC, but I’m so glad that we have still found a way to come together. I know that we have an exciting Kursa 2020 — online! 

— Dr. Indra Ekmanis, Kursa director