In honour of the centenary of the University of Latvia (UL), various events are planned, including the international conference “Personality at the Crossroads of Culture and Languages. Pēteris Šmits

The purpose of the conference is to commemorate Professor Šmits’ contribution to the development of culture, education and science, not only in the Latvian dimension, but also on a worldwide level. The conference will take place on April 25-26, 2019, at the Great Hall, Raiņa Boulevard 19.

Speakers from Latvia, China, Germany and Russia will describe the contribution of Pēteris Šmits to the studies of sinology, linguistics and Latvian folklore. Some presentations will be devoted to the historical characteristics of the epoch, while others will reveal the cultural heritage of Pēteris Šmits that is stored in the memory institutions.

Pēteris Šmits (also Peter Schmidt, 1869-1938) was a linguist, ethnographer, folklorist and sinologist and professor at the universities of Beijing, Vladivostok and Latvia and he has been chosen to be one of the personalities who represents the University of Latvia in the context of its centenary. Making this choice unites this anniversary with the Latvian nomination of Pēteris Šmits in the UNESCO Calendar of anniversaries.

His 150th anniversary is included in the UNESCO Calendar of anniversaries of eminent personalities and important events for 2018/2019. This is in recognition of his great contribution to the collecting of Latvian folklore and to the development of sinology in Europe and the Far East. The celebration of Pēteris Šmits’s 150th anniversary is supported within the framework of the UNESCO Participation Programme.

Conference programme

You are invited to participate in the conference and to fill in the registration form @: http://ejuz.lv/konference150