President, First Lady Ilves spend two days in border city of Narva
President Toomas Hendrik and First Lady Ieva Ilves spent Monday and Tuesday in Narva, where they visited a number of the city’s businesses and Narva-Jõesuu SOS Children’s Village together. Ieva Ilves also gave a lecture on cyber security at the University of Tartu Narva College, and visited the pediatric ward of Narva Hospital.
“In Narva, just as everywhere else in Estonia, entrepreneurial spirit and enterprise are important, as they mean jobs and livelihoods for the people,” stated Ilves according to a press release.
The president and first lady visited SHARK Animation Studio, whose young animators are, according to the President Ilves, bringing fresh blood to the animation scene in Estonia, in addition to teaching both children and adults to open doors into the world of multimedia.
The pair also visited the Narva company InterVacTechnology, one of few manufacturers in Europe of high-tech vacuum systems used for blood collection.
They also visited the Narva-based Micro-Fix, which grew from six employees in 1993 to over 300 today, producing titanium medical equipment sold on multiple foreign markets.
“Narva has good skilled labor and a strong work ethic — this is essential capital for many businesses seeking a place for operation or expansion,” said President Ilves. “The state’s job is to be a sensible and flexible partner to businesses, who can understand regional differences when needed.”
First Lady Ieva Ilves, who continues to work for the Latvian Ministry of Defence as head of its National Cybersecurity Policy Coordination Section, gave a lecture on cybersecurity at the University of Tartu Narva College; listeners included the college’s IT students as well as IT enthusiasts from the city’s grade schools.
The president and first lady also paid a visit to the Narva-Jõesuu SOS Children’s Village. Estonia’s network of children’s villages is described on the organization’s website as an alternative to foster families meant to ensure children with permanent families and homes. Ieva Ilves is a patron of the Estonian chapter of the organization, continuing a tradition of First Lady patrons in Estonia which, according to National Director Margus Oro, dates back decades.
Ieva also went on to visit the pediatric ward of Narva Hospital, where she met with the ward’s doctors and nurses before visiting its child patients.
“It is right and good that Narva children can receive modern and quality medical treatment right here in their hometown,” said the first lady, noting that the hospital’s children’s ward was a cozy, friendly, and caring place for its patients.
She also gave each child a copy of the newly published children’s book “Annaliisa’s Analysis” (Līze Analīze in Latvian) by Inese Zandere, which had been translated into Estonian by Guntars Godinš and Leelo Tungal. “Get well soon!” she wrote into each one.
With support from the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre, First Lady Ieva Ilves will be sending copies of the new children’s book to 33 book carousels in hospital children wards across the country.
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik