On December 14 the winners of the Human Development Award 2018 were announced: entrepreneur Marika Ģederte, teacher Anna Kupre, Children's Hospital Foundation and Kraslava Mommy's Club. The Award is hosted by AmCham, U.S. Embassy in Latvia and the Civic Alliance with the aim to honor inspirational people, businesses and organizations that have significantly contributed to human development. The award promotes initiatives that reduce inequality and foster social responsibility, education, health and well-being of the Latvian people.

AmCham kicked off the holiday season with its annual Christmas Charity reception raising EUR 1710 for our principal charities. In total our members have donated over EUR 2700 to RMHC Latvija, SOS Children Villages and Latvian Foster Families this year. More than 80 adults and 30 children joined the Christmas event and were greeted by AmCham President and Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy. Various activities for children were offered, including Christmas crafts, making gingerbread cookies, roasting of marshmallows and a special kids raffle. A new Member of the Year Award was introduced naming the most invested members thanks to whom AmCham continues to grow stronger and better connected.

Amidst tough government formation talks, AmCham members had the chance to join a discussion on post-election scenarios for Latvia and how they may affect the business and investment environment. The event was co-hosted by Sorainen and VA Government.

Our top-tier members had an exclusive opportunity to join the team building workshop with LEGO® Serious Play®. Coach Dirk Denoyelle is one of only 17 LEGO® certified professionals in the world who engaged us in an interactive hands-on session helping enhance teamwork, innovation and business performance.

AmCham hosted a discussion in Thought Leaders series with Ed Kemmick, an experienced U.S. media representative who shared highlights from his long and successful career in printed publications to starting and managing online-only newspaper "Last Best News". During an open discussion the impact of the U.S. Midterm Elections was also addressed.