Following is a brief account of the activities carried out and the impressions collected during the trip to Latvia at the end of the project Openness to diversity through community education (ODEon).
July 10, 2017
On the first day of our stay in Liepaja, we had a guided tour at the Liepaja Blind Society, a few steps from our accommodation, where Latvian partners welcomed and introduced us to the activities of the day and where we met the partner group coming from Cyprus. In the morning, we learned the great work of rehabilitation and inclusion of people with disabilities related to the view that the Association has done in recent decades in synergy with the Municipality; We were also accompanied on a tour through the classrooms and environments of the Institute, devoted to the most diverse manual, artistic, and recreational activities where we could watch the users at work. In the afternoon we were accompanied to the Soul Flower Garden, a place created to be accessible to anyone, which links his main activities in the presence of gardens, and courtyard animals: a kind of didactic farm. Here we were invited to participate in a lab in a large garden where, blindfolded, we walked by relying solely on the use of a stick and all other senses. At the closing of the afternoon participants were invited to exchange impressions and to note.
July 11, 2017
The second day started with departure at 09.00 to Liepaja center, where we visited the market that develops inside a historic building and on the square in front.
At 10.00 we walked on to the Liepaja Youth House, where we participated in a funny print lab with potatoes.
The Association that hosts us helps, encourages young people and offers them the opportunity to develop skills and talents through art, theater, audiovisual production, or community event organization.
The venue, which develops into a complex of historic buildings and a large courtyard, features a large multifunctional hall, offices and numerous service environments, equipped also to host family gatherings and celebrations.
The second stage of the day was to visit the Creative Quarter Center on Darza Street, a start-up incubator where, for some years, a group of young people has started a growing business reality.
The environment includes spaces for coworking, but also individual labs for small manufacturing companies, fashion studios, professional engeneering and design studios.
The center rises within a dismantled military area, whose real estate is part of a redevelopment project that seeks the realization of exhibition spaces for contemporary art and residences, funded with the support of European and municipal funds.
At the end of the second day, we visited the beautiful Liepaja Lido.
July 12, 2017
On the third day the Latvian partners led us from Liepaja to the small fishing village Jūrmalciems, in the county of Nica. We reached the headquarters of the Jūrmalciems public center where we were welcomed by the first citizen, Mr A. Petermanis, who explained the tradition-based educational project supported by the municipality. In the break between work and lunch, we reached the beach just a few hundred yards from the center. In the afternoon we left for the town of Grobina, where we were hosted at the headquarters of the Grove Society of Home Builders, a school where the arts, music and dance are taught. Always at Grobina, we met a singular reality set up and managed by a group of young people at the Curonian Vikings settlement devoted to territorial enhancement activities and human resources. The headquarters of this association is immersed in the nature of a large park lapped by a pond, perfect for picnic and outdoor activities. After dinner, we returned to Liepaja.
July 13, 2017
On the fourth day we left late in the morning from Liepaja to Kuldiga, where we had lunch, and were accompanied to the Pelči Special School, a school surrounded by greenery, which welcomes and hosts people with mental illness and physical disabilities, followed and assisted by highly qualified teachers and staff. As already noted, by visiting the reality of the previous days, in addition to the institutional education subjects, a fundamental role is attributed to the teaching of the figurative and performative arts, which always have dedicated and adequately equipped spaces. Inside this school, however, there are classrooms and workshops where disciplines are taught to develop manual skills and professional skills. At the end of our visit, in the afternoon we were taken to the center of Kuldiga, a pretty town where on those days a very important festival. We have walked through the streets of the old town, admired the buildings and spent the leisure pleasantly, attracted by the fun fair, the markets and the colorful crowd. In Kuldiga we ended the day, and also the last session of the ODEON project. We was hosted for dinner in a typical restaurant, where attendance certificates were delivered to each participant.
