Professor Jakobsone Bellomi on Sustainability and Country Branding in Latvia
Professor Ieva Jakobsone Bellomi was invited to participate in a discussion on sustainability and country branding in Riga, Latvia, on August 19, 2020. The discussion, “Life on the Planet Matters,” in the Riga Presidential Palace, kicked off a month of green activities before the upcoming World Cleanup Day on September 19. The cleanup is sponsored by the Latvian NGO World Cleanup under the patronage of the country’s President, Egils Levits. Latvia is recognized as one of the world’s greenest countries and the State Constitution highlights the duty of every citizen to protect nature and its inhabitants.
A native of Latvia, Professor Jakobsone Bellomi, teaches International Business, Principles of Management and Organizational Behavior at JCU. She has over 10 years of experience in economic and commercial public diplomacy in the Baltic States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and China.
President Egils Levits, third from right; Prof. Ieva Jakobsone Bellomi, first from right.
As the planet is facing harsh environmental problems, countries such as Latvia and their leaders are committing themselves more than ever to incorporate sustainability principles across different fields, most importantly, within the energy sector through innovative technology-enabled business models; in the transportation and mobility sector through more environmentally-friendly transport systems and manufacturing practices; finally, by promoting the concept of smart cities, smart living, smart energy-use solutions, and sustainable thinking educational platforms.
The participants in the discussion, including President Levits and the Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Juris Puce, concluded that a smart citizenship is key to building sustainability as a living principle of everyday life. Best practices of sustainable thinking and education from Sweden, Singapore, Denmark, and other countries were shared.
Prof. Ieva Jakobsone Bellomi, also representing the Latvian diaspora community, confirmed the need to embrace sustainable thinking and smart living in the country’s branding and future vision, which have been the key topics on the Latvian government’s agenda for the last months.
The platform #esiLV, which is a community of Latvian diaspora scientists, professionals, and entrepreneurs from all over the world, has organized several discussions on Latvia’s future in recent months. #esiLV aims to help the Latvian nation to prosper and develop itself into a modern, digital, and sustainable country. Prof. Bellomi, Chair of the #esiLV Branding think-tank, confirmed the community’s support to President Levits and the participants in the discussion. According to Prof. Bellomi, such initiatives are among the key international competitiveness factors in order for Latvian companies to succeed in the international business environment and for Latvia to attract the ‘right’ Foreign Direct Investment for sustainable growth in the future.
