Guardian Girls Karate Seminar Empowers Women in Latvia

@WKF - Guardian Girls Karate Empowers Women and Girls in Riga, Latvia

More than 30 women and girls, ranging in age from 8 to 60, took part in the Guardian Girls Karate (GGK) open seminar held on Sunday in Riga. The event brought together participants from diverse backgrounds to learn practical self-defence skills and strengthen confidence through the core principles of karate.

The seminar was led by 15 newly certified Guardian Girls Karate instructors, who applied their training by guiding participants through GGK techniques focused on self-protection, awareness, and empowerment. Prior to the seminar, an instructors’ course was held in Riga, where 15 new instructors from nine countries joined the initiative to develop and expand the programme in their respective territories. The nine new countries represented were Armenia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, and Sweden.

The programme was further enriched by two expert presentations. Dr. Diana Lapsa, psychotherapist, and Dr. Liene Niemane, criminal lawyer, delivered interactive sessions addressing the psychological and legal dimensions of self-defence and the prevention of gender-based violence, followed by open question-and-answer discussions with participants.

The activities in Riga were held under the Patronage of Her Excellency Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of the Republic of Latvia from 1999 to 2007, whose leadership and long-standing advocacy for women’s rights continue to have a lasting impact in the country.

Guardian Girls Karate is an exclusively licensed global programme by Guardian Girls International (GGI) to the WKF that promotes women’s empowerment through karate. It provides education and training in self-defence while fostering respect, confidence, and gender equality. The initiative was created by the Guardian Girls International (GGI), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Karate Federation (WKF).