In order to demonstrate the potential of digitalisation in every area of life and encourage the people of Latvia to acquire active technology and programming skills, today, on 16 December, Latvia’s first smart Christmas tree was lit at the Cabinet of Ministers. Both Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis and Juris Binde, President of Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT) participated in the programming of its algorithm.
M.Kučinskis pointed out that today Latvia can surely be referred to as a smart country because we are significantly ahead of a large part of economically developed countries with respect to information technologies. "The pace of progress in the area of information technology development is so substantial that even now, professionals with special education are no longer enough; each of us can learn to work with modern technologies. Why not start at Christmas, by programming the Christmas tree? I call on all people of Latvia to make it light up, by writing good things on social networks," says M.Kučinskis.
With the help of technology, the smart Christmas tree that has been programmed by the Prime Minister and J. Binde will change the colour of festive ornaments in response to positive records on social networks. During the holidays, every resident of Latvia can share his or her story on Twitter and Facebook about achievements of our country, people or good developments. Each record on Twitter, using the hashtag #LatvijaVar or #ManaLatvija, will make the smart
Christmas tree light up, and it will be possible to follow its changes on the Internet. Every ‘like’ for news about the smart Christmas tree of the Cabinet of Ministers or comment about one’s own or other people’s success in the LMT Facebook account will also make the Christmas tree light up.
“The world is now in the era of digital transformation, and it is a breakthrough opportunity for Latvia. Latvia has every advantage to become a smart country where people use technologies wisely. We have both high-quality technology infrastructure and smart people – we just have to be able to use these resources, and therefore it is essential that every resident has comprehensive technology skills. The smart Christmas tree is a symbol of our achievements, optimism and future potential,” says Juris Binde, President of Latvijas Mobilais Telefons.
The visual changes of the Cabinet of Ministers’ smart Christmas tree will be livestreamed until 1 January 2017 on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers and LMT Straume App, as well as on the Internet.
Supplementary information:
Andrejs Vaivars
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister
Phone: 29228678
E-mail: Andrejs.Vaivars@mk.gov.lv