News -Details

Zvaigzne ABC Publishers Ltd. was founded in 1993 and is today the biggest publishing house in Latvia, including its own wholesale warehouse and a range of bookstores. The range of publications is a combination of both new titles and imported materials from some of the best publishing houses around the world.

Interview with Sintija Buhanovska, Head of Digital Department.

1. What is the main challenge in your country & market?
Latvia is a small country with a population of roughly 1.9 million - and it still decreases year by year. As our educational system is in the middle of transformation process (a major project titled Skola2030 will end in December 2023) the situation is quite turbulent: teachers have to follow new regulations, adapt new teaching methods or make changes into existing ones, publishers have to provide new educational materials, and all parties involved in the educational system agree that not enough funding is provided for education as such.
Therefore, some of our main challenges or rather missions are the following: to provide high quality learning materials both to pre-school and school students; to offer learning materials both in printed format as well as digital; to help teachers not only by producing new resources but also by providing teacher training seminars or other forms of professional development; to facilitate fruitful discussions related to different issues in education.

2. Why is educational cooperation on a European level important to you?
Zvaigzne ABC has long been interested in cooperating with other educational publishers in Europe as we believe that a shared vision and experience can lead to a better quality of different projects. We want to be in the forefront in our country. Learning from other publishers and discussions related to education are essential for our day-to-day work.

3. In your opinion what are the main benefits of being a member of the EEPG?
EEPG provides an opportunity to meet educational publishers from different countries, learn from various cultures and educational systems, share common visions and talk about current problems and future challenges, come to fruitful solutions and meet professionals who are passionate to create the best learning environment that is possible for today's learners shaping tomorrow's society.
On a more poetic note - EEPG might be a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on on blue days and our members are always ready to give a friendly hug as we all face similar challenges on our path to make learning a better experience to everyone.