OPEN centre director urges politicians to heed everyday realities

Edijs Klaišis, head of the OPEN Creative Centre association, says politicians should pay more attention to people’s experiences and less to personal ambition and collecting social media likes. He made the comments to LSM ahead of Latvia’s next parliamentary elections.

The association works mainly with young people facing difficulties and those at risk, providing a safe place to spend time and receive practical and emotional support. Klaišis said political decisions should draw more on the experiences the organisation sees in its daily work.

“It may sound utopian, but I believe a lot would change if politicians started taking into account what is happening in reality, rather than only in Excel spreadsheets, respected that reality and made decisions based on what is happening in the world,” he said.

“Our daily work is directly connected with dealing with the consequences. With this current approach, ignoring reality, the result is Latvia as a great power in the fight against consequences,” Klaišis said.

He urged decision-makers to listen to difficult accounts of reality and warnings about the problems people face. “Do not ignore reality,” he said, adding that the issues his organisation encounters are not far away but “two arm’s lengths” from people.

Klaišis said he had met with politicians and officials, but that much of politics had become “a kind of farce” focused not on addressing causes but on personal ambition and collecting social media likes. He declined to prescribe specific measures for the next four years, saying the world was changing by the minute. “We have to be guided by where we are now,” he said.

The interview is part of LSM’s “I have a dream” series, which asks people what they expect from the next Saeima and what changes they hope to see over the next four years.