Draft:Marcis Skadmanis

Mārcis Liors Skadman is (born on May 29, 1984, in Riga) is a businessman, lawyer, and activist born in Latvia who works in Great Britain and the USA. Originator and founder of World NGO Day. In 2018, he was ranked in the "Philanthropists under 40" ranking of the largest US rating agency, PeopleMaven.

Biography
Mārcis Liors Skadmanis was born on May 29, 1984, in Riga, Latvia. He grew up in a family of five children. In November 2013, his younger sister Daina Skadmanes and father Jānis Skadmanis died in the collapse of the Zolitude supermarket "Maxima" in Riga.

Mārcis Skadmanis graduated from the Nordic Gymnasium and, with excellent results, graduated from the Law Faculty of the Business School "Turība,"  obtaining bachelor's and master's degrees in law.

As a high school student, in 2002, Skadmanis won 1st place in the Riga City Council Riga Forum project competition "City of the Future", in 2003 a gold medal at the 9th Olympiad of Latvian State Environmental Projects, as well as recognition at the 11th International Environmental Project at the "INEPO" Olympiad in Turkey, and 3rd place in the British Council student scientific works competition. In 2004, he won a gold medal at the 28th scientific conference of Latvian students in the section of Earth science and economic geography. In the same year, Skadmanis also received a letter of appreciation from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia, and in 2006, he was awarded the Sedmset Let Staranove commemorative medal in Prague, Czech Republic.


 * In 2007, Mārcis Liors Skadmanis received the Latvian Society Integration Fund award "for investment in promoting equal opportunities."
 * In 2016, Skadmanis was awarded the title of Honorary Alumnus (Alumnus honoris causa) of the Business School "Turība."
 * In 2017, the British Royal Society for the Promotion of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (the Royal Society for the Promotion of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce) awarded Skadman the title of member of the Royal Society "FRSA" for his achievements in the implementation and support of international initiatives.

Professional Work
Skadmanis obtained a bachelor's degree in law from the Business School "Turība" in 2008 and a master's degree in 2009. In 2017, he obtained a Diploma in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Oxford.

From 2008 to 2011, he worked for Latvian and British law firms, practicing international business and British law. On the other hand, he gained business experience with Israeli and Danish companies.

From 2013 to this day, Skadmanis has been a member of the board of the Israeli company Silver Net Financial Systems. This company is one of the main information technology companies involved in the development of financial and banking management software in Israel.

In 2018, Skadmanis was approved as an advisor to the "INGO" center of Taichung City Council (Taiwan).

Philanthropy
In 2018, the US rating agency PeopleMaven ranked Skadmani in the list of the top international "philanthropists under 40." Skadmanis has also provided support to the non-governmental organization sector, for example, in strengthening the Pakistani NGO environment. n 2018, Skadmanis signed the Taichung "GNP" declaration at the invitation of the Taichung City Council (Taiwan, Republic of China) leadership. The NGO sector is one of Taichung's most important development sectors. Taichung City Council leadership thanked Skadman for his contribution to the development of the international NGO sector.

World NGO Day

Skadmanis is known as the originator and founder of World NGO Day (English: World NGO Day). On February 27, 2014, it was officially recognized as an international day in Finland, achieved international success in various countries, and was highly appreciated by several international organizations.

On February 27, 2014, Mārcis Lior Skadmanis, together with the partners of the World NGO Day Forum and representatives of the Finnish government, gathered NGO leaders from various sectors in Helsinki. Various world leaders spoke at the World NGO Day recognition forum, as Finland's Minister of International Development, as State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Head of UNOPS, as Head of the Northern Council of Ministers, as former Minister of Women's Affairs of Iran, as head of the United Nations Development Program, former prime minister of New Zealand, as well as representatives from UNESCO and other international organizations.

World NGO Day Recognition Award

In 2018, Skadmanis launched the World NGO Day Recognition Award, which is awarded to city or county leaders for achievements in supporting and improving the NGO sector. The award is presented annually on February 27 as part of World NGO Day. This award has been received by Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis from Florida, USA; Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen from Taiwan; and Western Australia Governor Kim Beazley.

Misc
In 2007, Skadmanis received the award of the Latvian Integration Fund "For investment in the promotion of equal opportunity in society,"  becoming the youngest awardee in the history of the "Society Unity Award." The award was given for Skadmanis' public project "Riga Ghetto: Home after 60 Years,"  which he implemented together with Holocaust researcher Tamāra Zitcere. In 2015, Skadmani's last name was included in Frida Mikhelson's biographical book of testimonies, "I Survived in Rumbula."

In December 2013, the President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš invited Skadmana and his younger sister Anda Skadmana to meet at the House of Blackheads to get permission to use Daina Skadmana's "Wind Fir" sketch on the President's Christmas greeting card. President Andras Bērziņš's Christmas greetings were sent to leaders of other countries and Latvia's allies. In addition, Skadmanis made sure that the Riga City Council and other related institutions placed the "Wind Tree" in Kronvalda Park in Riga. In January 2018, a memorial exhibition of Daina Skadmanes, "Journey to the Art World of Daina Skadmanes," was held at Rietumu Banka.

Massas is committed to supporting non-governmental organizations and charities and promoting non-governmental work to new generations. He continues to explore innovative technologies and digital arts, aiming to help non-governmental organizations and institutions compete at the top of the international arena; these organizations include BRAC of Bangladesh, the Asian International Fair Trade Organization, and the American Public Interest Organization.