Consular Initiatives
RIGA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LAW ANNOUNCES A SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE FOR ONE-YEAR STUDIES AT TEMPLE LAW SHCOOL FOR RGSL STUDENTS
Riga, Latvia, January 25, 2022
We are happy to inform about a scholarship for one-year studies at Temple University’s LL.M. programme for our students, granted by Mr. John Medveckis, honorary consul of Latvia to Philadelphia and president of the J.J. Medveckis Foundation, and covering both tuition and living expenses.
Due to the generosity of Mr. Medveckis, Temple Law School will provide a 100% scholarship to one RGSL student to attend Temple for the 2022/23 academic year. The student will also receive 20,000 USD in financial assistance to offset their living expenses in Philadephia.
The benefactor wants to support a RGSL student with strong academic credentials, who would not otherwise be able to afford to study in the United States. This person should be able to serve as a diplomatic bridge between Latvia and the United States, and be willing to promote the culture of philanthropy in Latvia by expressing gratitude publicly for this opportunity.
The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the professional graduate law school of Temple University, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1895, the law school has an enrollment of about 530 students. The Temple Law School offers several advanced degree programs, including Master of Laws Degree (LL.M.) in trial advocacy, transnational law, Asian law and taxation. International lawyers have the opportunity to attend the Temple's General LL.M. program.
More about Temple Law School LL.M. programmes you can find here: https://law.temple.edu/resources/prospective-students/graduate-llm/
We invite interested 3rd year Bachelor and Masters programmes’ students to submit their applications with a motivation letter detailing their interest in continuing their studies at Temple Law in the 2022/23 academic year by 20 February 2022 to RGSL Director Ieva Rācenāja e-mail: ieva.racenaja@rgsl.edu.lv
The successful applicants will be interviewed by the scholarship committee formed by RGSL faculty and staff, and the decision will be made by 15 March 2022.
An informative session for prospective applicants with the representatives of Temple Law School will be held online, date and time TBC.
Upon successful launch of the cooperation between RGSL and Temple Law the John Medveckis scholarship might be renewed also in the future years. We at RGSL are grateful to Mr. Medveckis for the foundation’s generous support and are happy to work together to ensure a long and fruitful partnership.
Last December, Interim Dean of Temple Law school Rachel Rebouché hosted a delegation led by the Latvian ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Māris Selga, RGSL Visiting Lecturer Ivars Indāns, and Mr. John Medveckis, Honorary Consul of Latvia to Philadelphia. More about that visit here.
Press Release from the Riga Graduate School of Law
Press Release from the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Washington, DC
(L. to r.): Patrick Plunket (Director of Major Gifts), Deborah McCreery (Assistant Dean for Development), Karen McMichael (Director of International Programs), John Smagula (Assistant Dean for Graduate & International Programs), Ambassador Māris Selga, Interim Dean Rachel Rebouché, Ivars Indāns (Professor, Riga Graduate School of Law), Marika Selga, John Medveckis (J.J. Medveckis Foundation)
Philadelphia, PA, December 17, 2021–Temple University Beasley School of Law Interim Dean Rachel Rebouché hosted a delegation led by the Latvian ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Māris Selga, accompanied by his wife Marika and daughter Zane, as well as Professor Ivars Indāns, from Riga Graduate School of Law, and Mr. John Medveckis, Honorary Consul of Latvia to Philadelphia.
The occasion was a new partnership with the Riga Graduate School of Law (RGSL) to expand opportunities for Temple Law students to study abroad and welcomes more students from Latvia to Temple Law, on exchange and into the Master of Laws (LL.M.) for Foreign-Trained Lawyers Program.
Mr. Medveckis, on behalf of the J.J. Medveckis Foundation, committed financial support for the first Latvian student to attend Temple next year. He also shared his thoughts on the importance of international legal education and how he hopes his support will prompt other donors to support this partnership and build the culture of philanthropy in Latvia.
Interim Dean Rebouché and the Temple delegation thanked Mr. Medveckis for the foundation’s generous support and pledged to work together to ensure a long and fruitful partnership. See Press Release
JOHN MEDVECKIS DONATES PAINTING TO THE LATVIAN EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON, DC IN CELEBRATION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN LATVIA AND THE U.S.
The painting Ņujorkas krustceļi (The El), which currently hangs at the premises of the Embassy of Latvia in Washington, is by Evalds Dajevskis (1914 – 1990) who lived between two watershed events of the 20th century: the beginning of World War I in August 1914 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, when Latvia regained its independence. It depicts a red brick house below multiple layers of highways in New York (oil on canvas).
To mark 2018 as the 100th year of Latvia's independence, the Honorary Consul of Latvia in Philadelphia has contracted for a high-visibility billboard on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), one of the most traveled highways crossing the city. Estimated weekly impressions are in excess of 628,815 (adults 18+).
JOHN MEDVECKIS DONATES RARE CENSUS DIRECTORY TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
This Philadelphia Census Directory, published in 1811 by Jane Aitken, is the first American city directory with a separate listing of African-American residents. Click here to read the article that appeared in the Library of Congress Madison Council Bulletin, Spring 2017.
HISTORIC REUNIFICATION IN RIGA
Two rare and valuable silver sauceboats, commissioned by Catherine the Great from the famous German silversmith, Sebald Heinrich Blau, (1739-1788), as part of a service for Riga Castle, are on view at the Art Museum Riga Bourse.
On loan from the Honorary Consul in Philadelphia, John J. Medveckis, the sauceboats are back in Riga for the first time since the 18th century and formed part of an exhibition at Riga Castle, recently reopened after a fire. Learn more.
WHAT IF RUSSIA INVADES NATO MEMBERS ESTONIA, LATVIA, AND/OR LITHUANIA?
In February, 2017, the Consulate for Republic of Latvia in Pennsylvania sponsored a multimedia presentation setting forth a provocative set of scenarios of this possible conflict, held at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.
Presenters were David Shlapak, Senior International Research Analyst; Co-director, Center for Gaming, RAND Corporation, and Michael Johnson, Defense Research Analyst, Sr., RAND Corporation.
Following the presentation, H.E. Andris Teikmanis, Ambassador of Latvia to the United States, delivered brief remarks and participated in the Q & A portion of the event.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PHILANTHROPY
“Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy” is a program being developed by the Honorary Consul in Philadelphia, John Medveckis, in conjunction with the University of Latvia. Designed to inspire and foster young talent in Latvia, it seeks to fund pilot projects at the undergraduate level, coupling the development of fresh ideas with the spirit of “giving back,” to help fund and encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Gifts can be made through the non-profit Friends of the University of Latvia and sent to: The Hon. Robert Blumberg, 230 West Monroe Street, Suite 1125, Chicago, IL 60606. Your gift is fully tax-deductible in the U.S.